SYNOPSIS
SYNOPSIS
SYNOPSIS
FILM IS DEAD. LONG LIVE FILM! explores the vanishing world of private film collecting—an obsessive, secretive, often illicit world of basement film vaults, piled high with forgotten reels, and inhabited by passionate cineastes devoted to the rescue and preservation of photochemical film.
Condemned as pirates and hounded by the FBI, film collectors have long lurked in the shadows. Yet their efforts have resulted in the survival of countless films that would otherwise have been lost to history. Archives and studios now look to private hands for missing titles and many collectors have begun restoring and releasing films themselves. As analog film fades from memory, the basement-dwellers and bootleggers of old are finally being given their due.
Hailed by critics as "intimate and artful," "stunningly beautiful," and "ferociously entertaining," FILM IS DEAD. LONG LIVE FILM! is a multi-award-winning tribute to the private film collector, a celebration of the fetishistic subculture of pre-video cinephilia, and a timely reminder of the glories of analog film.
Produced, Directed,
Edited & Photographed by
Peter Flynn
Runtime: 103 mins
Format: 16x9, Digital/DCP
REVIEWS
SYNOPSIS
SYNOPSIS
"LONG LIVE FILM! is a ferociously entertaining, endearingly humorous, and ultimately poignant look at the underground world of private film collectors [that] ends on a beautifully unexpected note."
John Larkin, Films in Review
"By actively acknowledging the complexities of film collecting, and those who collect, Flynn lands on something truly profound . . . the results are beautifully haunting."
Theodore Steen, Screen Anarchy
"Spectacular . . . a massive treat for cinephiles. A wave of nostalgia and wonder is felt in every scene."
Film Threat
"Powerful . . . a thoughtful commentary on life's richness--and it's inevitable impermanence."
Peg Aloi, The Arts Fuse
"A treat as well as a cautionary tale for film lovers everywhere."
The Portland Press Herald
"A terrific documentary and a lovely piece of storytelling."
Christopher Lloyd, Film Yap
"You can't miss it!"
The San Francisco Chronicle
"A beautifully structured documentary . . . intimate and artful . . . a must for all cineastes."
Laura & Robin Clifford, Reeling Reviews
A "funny and observant love letter to film collecting . . . immensely entertaining and wonderfully insightful."
The Independent
"Affectionate, funny, and eye-opening."
St. George News
“A fascinating, entertaining film that deserves to be seen by as wide an audience as possible . . . check it out film lovers--it's catnip for you all!”
At the Movies with Tim Sika
“FILM IS DEAD. LONG LIVE FILM! is worth the wait.”
Andrea Chase, Public Radio Exchange
"Stunningly beautiful . . . enough to make a grown man cry."
Matias Bombal's Hollywood, KAHI Radio
"Rarely does a documentary on a niche topic end up being so entertaining."
The Daily Cardinal
AWARDS
SYNOPSIS
AWARDS
Winner!
Best Documentary Feature Film
2025 Fargo Film Festival
Winner!
Best Picture
2024 International Sound & Film Music Festival
Winner!
Best Feature Documentary
2024 Desertscape Intl. Film Festival
Winner!
Best Feature Documentary
21st Annual Indy Film Fest
Winner!
Best Feature Documentary
29th Annual New Jersey International Film Festival
with Special Citations for
Directing & Editing
Winner!
Audience Award
Favorite Feature Film
20th Annual Southside Film Festival