World’s Smallest Film Factory — in a Rochester Basement
Your donation is needed to help Fund this Film about Making Film
At a time when many think analog film is dead, Mark and France Scully Osterman are making real 35 mm film in the basement of their Rochester, New York home. Understand that this is the only film-making operation on Earth where making the photographic emulsion, coating the stock, slitting and perforating 35 mm motion picture film can be witnessed by photography and motion picture enthusiasts.
Join Emmy award winning cinematographer Gerardo Puglia as he chronicles the Ostermans’ struggle to make real 1920s era motion picture film with vintage equipment. Puglia, from Princeton, NJ, has a passion for story telling that will reveal this new research as an adventure into the never-before-seen world of making film.
Known for his poetic and atmospheric cinematography, Puglia’s previous cinematic film projects include God Knows Where I Am (2016) and To the Edge of the Sky (2017). He has an impressive career in filmmaking, and too many to mention, you can find more about Puglia’s work here: gerardopugliafilms.com.
This project is about the origins of both still and cinematic film. It offers a rare documentary opportunity to tell a story that has never been shown before because modern film companies such as Eastman Kodak and Ilford Ltd have made modern films that are sensitive to all colors. The operations of making such films are carried out in total darkness. The Osterman’s efforts on the other hand are visually open to the viewer made possible by obscure circumstances.
Your donation can help make this possible.
Your help is needed to fund this project, specifically for travel expenses and fees for cinematographer Gerardo Puglia and sound engineer Jack Mehlbaum to visit Leica in Wetzlar, Germany and also to Scully & Osterman Studio in Rochester, New York along with their Assistant Cameraman and Producer/ Editor. This includes professional fees, transportation, baggage fees, hotel, car rental, and meals.