Creating the Widescreen Weekend
At the NMPFT, Bradford, England

Projectionist Tony Cutts. Picture by Thomas Hauerslev

The Widescreen Weekend is a celebration of all that is extraordinary in large format film and has become a highlight on the film festival calendar. From humble beginnings, it is very satisfying to find the similar festivals being established around the world and the original going from strength-to-strength.

After we had installed Cinerama facilities in 1993, I was given the task of organising a festival to celebrate widescreen cinema. I was given two months to pull it together. I'd never organised a festival of any kind before and the result was mixed: a seven day event of classics with "This is Cinerama" as the only 3-strip contribution. 70mm prints of "Lawrence of Arabia" and "2001:A Space Odyssey" were the big hits. Guest of honour was Jeremy Thomas, to talk about his work in producing "The Last Emperor" and the soon to be released "Little Buddha" in 70mm. We screened a stunning 70mm of "The Sheltering Sky". The other thing I remember, I had a stinking cold and so didn't enjoy it. But it wasn't as bad as the vicious flu I had in 1997 that kept me out of the entire weekend!

During 1994, we experimented with an Italian Film festival and planned to launch the first Bradford Film Festival in March (a quiet month in the Film Festival calendar) 1995. As ideas formed during 1994, it was obvious that the way to host the widescreen section was over a weekend and encourage people to come and stay and watch films from morning to midnight. I suppose that overall the results were disappointing (with the exception of a repeat of "2001: A Space Odyssey"), but the foundations had been laid.

The real success by this time, and what proved to the most important part of the success of the WSW, was that the message was out. Fans from all over the globe knew we existed and rumours and messages started to pour in: tales of missing Cinerama prints; private collections of 70mm prints; and links into European archives. One of the earliest and still the most exciting was the discovery of the print of "How the West Was Won". The screening of this classic at the 1996 Weekend remains one of the highlights of my career. The resurrection of this was possible due to the efforts of several people in different European countries. But what a night! Not to be forgotten by anyone who was there.

In that film alone, is the essence of the Widescreen Weekend. The community of supporters of 70mm and Cinerama is a broad and often generous one. The energies and commitment that go into creating the WSW are not just within the Museum. They also include many across the globe who provide information, technical support, campaigning, encouragement and the occasional nudge back on the tracks.

 Academy of the Widescreen Weekend