NEWSLETTER
The festival of film conservation at George Eastman Museum offers new reserved-seating exclusive benefit for Patron-level passholders
Rochester, N.Y. (December 6, 2024) —The Nitrate Picture Show, the festival of film conservation, returns for its ninth year on May 29–June 1, 2025. The festival features screenings of vintage nitrate film prints from international archives and the Eastman Museum’s own collection, as well as lectures from leading archivists, inviting attendees to experience the art and science of film preservation, from print conservation to archival projection. Attendees have the rare experience of watching original nitrate prints projected in the cinema while surrounded by other enthusiasts.
New this year is an additional benefit for Patron-level passholders. Passholders will have the opportunity to reserve their preferred seat in the iconic Dryden Theatre, offering optimal convenience and comfort. This seat will remain the passholders exclusively for the entire festival.
“Our audience’s enthusiasm and appreciation for this beautiful format is inspiring us to search for more great classics and hidden treasures on nitrate stock,” said Peter Bagrov, Director of the Nitrate Picture Show. “Cinephiles from all over the world join us for this unique event, the circle of nitrate connoisseurs keeps growing, and we often have sold-out screenings. We took advice from our loyal attendees, and we hope that the reserved seat option will make it an even better experience.”
About Nitrate Picture Show
Since the first edition in 2015, titles of the films have only been announced on the first day of the festival, and the last screening has been a Blind Date with Nitrate, where the title is revealed when the curtain rises and the light from the projector hits the screen. Past screenings include: tinted silent prints of Die freudlose Gasse [The Joyless Street] (1925, Georg Wilhelm Pabst) and Intolerance (1916, D. W. Griffith); original release prints of Der blaue Engel [The Blue Angel] (1930, Josef von Sternberg), L’age d’or [The Golden Age] (1930, Luis Bunuel), Liebelei (1933, Max Ophüls), Le jour se lève [Daybreak] (1939, Marcel Carné), Walt Disney’s Pinocchio (1940), Casablanca (1942, Michael Curtiz), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944, Vincente Minnelli), Leave Her to Heaven (1945, John M. Stahl), Nightmare Alley (1947, Edmund Goulding), Ladri di biciclette [Bicycle Thieves] (1948, Vittorio de Sica), The Third Man (1948, Carol Reed) and Bakushu [Early Spring] (1951, Yasujiro Ozu). In the Nitrate Shorts section, past presentations included Walt Disney’s first color films, screen tests for Gone with the Wind (1939), as well as experimental works by Oscar Fischinger, Len Lye, Norman McLaren, and Mary Ellen Bute.
About Passes & Tickets
The Festival Pass ($225) and Student/Member Pass ($175) grant the holder general admission access to all screenings and lectures held during the course of the festival. All passholders are provided complimentary admission to the George Eastman Museum during the days of the festival. In addition, passholders have the opportunity to reserve spots for passholder-exclusive presentations, demonstrations, and tours. All festival passholders also receive gift bags with limited-edition Nitrate Picture Show ephemera and the comprehensive festival program catalog.
The Patron Pass ($325) includes all of the perks of the previous tiers, as well as an additional premium Patron thank-you gift in their complimentary tote bag. Patrons also receive acknowledgment by name at the following year's Nitrate Picture Show in the program catalog and on displayed signage. For the first time, Patron-level passholders can reserve their preferred seat in the iconic Dryden Theatre when purchasing their pass.
Single-Screening general admission tickets for individual screenings, if available, may be purchased at the Dryden Theatre box office during the festival.
Accessibility
Nitrate Picture Show encourages guests who require accessibility accommodations to sign up for an Accessibility Badge to ensure a comfortable experience. Guests can sign up for an Accessibility Badge reaching out to the box office at (585) 327-4839 or nitrate@eastman.org.
About the George Eastman Museum
Founded in 1947, the George Eastman Museum is the world’s oldest photography museum and one of the largest film archives in the United States, located on the historic Rochester estate of entrepreneur and philanthropist George Eastman, the pioneer of popular photography. Its holdings comprise more than 400,000 photographs, 28,000 motion picture films, the world’s preeminent collection of photographic and cinematographic technology, one of the leading libraries of books related to photography and cinema, and extensive holdings of documents and other objects related to George Eastman. As a research and teaching institution, the Eastman Museum has an active publishing program, and its L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation’s graduate program (a collaboration with the University of Rochester) makes critical contributions to film preservation. For more information, visit eastman.org.
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ATTN. Media: High-resolution images for the ninth Nitrate Picture Show can be downloaded here. Photo credit: Jackie McGriff.
Rare Media Opportunity
A rare behind-the-scenes tour of the Louis B. Mayer Conservation Center will be provided to interested members of the press on Wednesday, May 28 at 9 a.m. Space is limited to fifteen people. Please email draymo@eastman.org to reserve your spot.
The Louis B. Mayer Conservation Center is the George Eastman Museum's esteemed nitrate vaults. Located off-site in North Chili, New York, this newly renovated state-of-the-art facility houses more than 24,000 reels of highly flammable nitrate film, meticulously preserved under strict temperature and humidity controls to maintain the beauty and clarity of this remarkable medium. Led by our knowledgeable Collection Manager Deborah Stoiber, guests gain insight into the history and care involved in preserving nitrate film, including the unique challenges that come with such volatile, yet visually captivating, material.
A press conference announcing the ninth Nitrate Picture Show films will be held on Thursday, May 29 at 10 a.m. at Dryden Theatre. No registration is required.
Media Contact:
Danielle Raymo
Communications Manager
(585) 327-4813