Seattle movie fans are getting a classic big-screen experience back. SIFF announced that 70mm screenings are returning to SIFF Cinema Downtown for Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film The Odyssey, starting July 16.
The return is a big deal for longtime Seattle filmgoers. Before SIFF took over the former Cinerama theater, 70mm screenings were one of the venue’s signature attractions. Now, SIFF says it’s finally ready to bring the format back.
Beth Barrett, SIFF’s artistic director, said the nonprofit has been easing back into film projection after mostly relying on digital screenings. During this year’s Seattle International Film Festival, SIFF surprised audiences by showing Olivia Wilde’s “The Invite” on 35mm film, with hopes of doing more special-format screenings in the future.
But running 70mm screenings isn’t simple.
“Seventy millimeter, for one, each reel is literally twice as heavy as a 35mm print,” Barrett told The Seattle Times. “So the operation of that is a real skill.”
She added that Seattle is fortunate to still have a local 70mm projectionist, calling it “a limited commodity.” SIFF plans to use The Odyssey as a test run to better understand the logistics before expanding future film-format offerings.
For movie lovers, 70mm is prized for its richer image quality and added texture compared to standard digital projection. Nolan’s The Odyssey is the first feature film to ever be filmed entirely with IMAX 70mm cameras.
However, Seattle audiences won’t be able to see it in IMAX 70mm locally. The Boeing IMAX Theater at Pacific Science Center, once the city’s go-to destination for that format, recently stopped showing feature films after being acquired by the Space Needle. Now, fans wanting the full IMAX 70mm experience will need to travel to California or grab their passport and head to Vancouver, B.C. to find the nearest theater with that capability.
Tickets for SIFF’s screenings of The Odyssey go on sale Thursday at 9 a.m. on siff.net, with the film’s first 10 days shown entirely in 70mm.
