Documentary Shines Projector's Bulb on Film Collecting as Preservation

POMPTON PLAINS, N.J. - March 15, 2024 - PRLog -- Film is Dead. Long Live Film! explores the vanishing world of private film collecting—an obsessive world of basement vaults piled-high with forgotten reels, inhabited by passionate cinephiles devoted to film's rescue and preservation. Director Peter Flynn's new documentary follows his award-winning look at the demise of analog film projection, The Dying of the Light.

Recently acquired by distributor BayView Entertainment, a world premiere screening happens Thursday, March 28, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. ET. at the Barrymore Film Center in Fort Lee, New Jersey, considered the Birthplace of the American Motion Picture Industry.

Physical media and streaming releases of Film is Dead. Long Live Film! will follow its theatrical debut.

Condemned as pirates and hounded by authorities, film collectors long lurked in the shadows. Yet their efforts resulted in the survival of countless misplaced, abandoned, often decaying films that would otherwise be lost. Archives and studios now look to collectors for missing titles, and the basement-dwellers and bootleggers of old are finally getting the recognition they deserve.

"I've always been fascinated by people and practices marginalized or omitted from official film history," says Flynn. "Without collectors unearthing discarded treasures, much of film history would be lost. Now, time is running out. Film is decaying fast, collectors are aging, and there's a real urgency to pass this on."

Film is Dead. Long Live Film! profiles a range of collectors and preservationists to give a well-rounded look at the many pleasures, perils, and pitfalls of obsessive movie-love.

"As cinephiles ourselves, we are thrilled to have Peter Flynn's vital film join our roster, which includes classics we hope to see preserved for years to come," stated Peter Castro of BayView Entertainment. "It does an extraordinary job of shining the spotlight on film collecting as preservation."

Tickets for the World Premiere are available at http://www.barrymorefilmcenter.com

About Peter Flynn

Producer, director, editor, and cinematographer, Peter Flynn earned his PhD from the University of Massachusetts. A faculty member at Emerson College's Visual & Media Arts Department in Boston, he teaches courses in media production and film history. Previous films include Blazing the Trail: The O'Kalems in Ireland, The Dying of the Light, and Inauguration.

About BayView Entertainment, LLC

BayView Entertainment, LLC is a leading independent distributor of feature films, fitness, and special-interest content. With hit narrative films Skinamarink and Robot Monster, plus legendary documentaries On Any Sunday and The Endless Summer leading the way, BayView's is one of the fastest-growing names in the field.

Incorporating catalogs from Summer Hill, Mutiny Pictures, VIPCO, Monterey Media, and others, BayView is positioned to expand even further in years to come. BayView's programs are available on the major streaming sites around the world plus DVD and Blu-ray.