Motion picture history has deep roots in Rochester. One great thing about those roots is seeing the many branches that have grown over the decades. There’s the manufacturing of motion picture film that still occurs today at Kodak’s facilities. There’s the production of motion picture content that happens on a daily basis in and around the city. The presentation of independent and classic cinema at The Little Theatre and the Dryden Theater, particularly when associated with one of the many film festivals and series’ that call our community home. Education in the arts and technologies of film production at our local high schools and colleges. Of vital significance is the work done to restore and preserve film-based content.
The Rochester/Finger Lakes Film Commission provides a central connection between those branches, facilitating connections and acting as a liaison between those many individuals and entities that come together to fill the increasing number and variety of screens in our world.
The many processes involved in film restoration are fascinating, vast, and can become extremely technical. And while those processes in and of themselves are important and could be the subject of a much longer and more in-depth piece, the focus here is how the Film Office plays a crucial role in the life cycle of films, particularly those that share our roots right here in Rochester.
Jerry Stoeffhaas’ and Jeff Ureles’ film Cheap Shots, shot in the Finger Lakes region in the late 1980s, premiered at Sundance in 1989. It was shot on film and initially presented theatrically on film before ultimately finding its way to video store shelves and television broadcasts. Prints of the film existed in various forms, but for the film to have a second life in the modern, UHD era, it would have to be digitally scanned and restored.
When Jerry consulted with Nora Brown, the Rochester/Finger Lakes Film Commissioner, regarding taking steps toward bringing his film up to a marketable state, Nora immediately began working to connect Jerry with Mike Champlin and his team at DeBergerac Productions. Mike’s deep and specialized knowledge of film made him an ideal partner in the restoration of the film from Jerry’s check print.
After months of painstaking work, the restoration is complete, and the film will screen on September 30 as part of an invitation-only celebration of 30 years of the Rochester/Finger Lakes Film Commission’s commitment to driving the film industry in upstate New York, from assisting active productions to breathing new life into classic films, all the while focusing on the economic impacts of production related spending both immediate and long term.