Kodak is the only major manufacturer of color motion picture film left in the world, and at the 2026 Academy Awards, three out of five Best Cinematography nominees and five out of ten Best Picture nominees were shot on it. So is film in decline, stable, or growing again? Filmmaker Leon Barnard and his crew at Team 2 Films traveled from England to Rochester, NY, to find out, touring the buildings where Kodak makes motion picture film and talking to the people who make it. Fittingly, they shot their documentary about film on film.
This is a guest article by Leon Barnard of Team 2 Films, adapted for CineD. You can watch the resulting documentary embedded above or directly on YouTube here.
At the peak of cinema’s transition to digital, there was a moment when it looked like film might disappear completely. Despite the advances of digital technology, however, film remains a viable and increasingly attractive medium for telling stories. But it is contingent on an interconnected infrastructure: the manufacture of film stock, the maintenance of cameras, and the reliability of labs. On two of those fronts, things look healthy; there are many labs (new ones are even opening), there is a good supply of second-hand cameras, and new film cameras are being planned. Yet there is only one manufacturer of color motion picture film. For now, the future of film is linked to Kodak, which is exactly why we wanted to see the factory for ourselves.
Shooting a documentary about film, on film
If we’re going to make a documentary about how film is made, it seemed only right that we shoot it on film. So in addition to our Blackmagic PYXIS 12K and Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K, we took two film cameras: an Arriflex 35-III 4-perf 35mm and an Eclair ACL 2 Super 16mm.
Eastman Business Park: film has been made here for over 130 years
George Eastman began manufacturing dry plates for photography in 1881. It wasn’t until 1888 that he renamed his company Kodak, and in 1889 Kodak commercialized cellulose-based roll film, which played a critical role in the development of motion picture technology. In 1890, Eastman established Kodak Park and began developing a dedicated complex for manufacturing film and cameras to meet growing demand.
For over 100 years, Kodak has manufactured film on this site, and they still do. Today, the site is called Eastman Business Park, and it is extensive. The manufacture of motion picture film is spread between four different buildings, with each stage of the process happening in a different one.
Inside the Kodak factory
The clear plastic-like material that gives film its strength and shape, the base, is manufactured in building 219. The components for the coatings that make the film photosensitive are prepared in building 38, where Kodak maintains hundreds of ingredients and recipes.
Those coatings are applied to the base in building 38 using a process called curtain coating, with a machine capable of applying multiple liquid coatings simultaneously in one pass. The scale of this operation is hard to overstate: the coating line is over a mile long, including the drying alleys the film passes through. Between buildings, the light-sensitive material is transported in light-tight caskets.
The final steps happen in building 326, where the film is slit to size, perforated, packaged, and shipped to productions around the world.
Is film growing again?
According to Vanessa Bendetti, Vice President and Head of Motion Picture and Entertainment at Kodak, their revenue for motion picture film has grown 36% in the last two years. That trend is evident in the number of movies being shot on film and the rising popularity of exhibition on film.
Without a doubt, the manufacture of film is complex and requires highly skilled workers. If Kodak is to continue producing film, it is vital that they train the next generation of “Kodakers” before the current generation retires along with their experience and knowledge. As we toured and interacted with Kodak employees, it was heartening to see that young workers were being recruited and mentored, and many had positions of significant responsibility.
People, process, product
We were blown away by our time in the factory and left feeling confident that film, and the company that pioneered it, have a future. Three things impressed us most.
First, the people. Without fail, everyone we met at Kodak, from junior to senior, was friendly, passionate about film, and happy to share their time and knowledge.
Second, the process. In Rochester, there are four ordinary buildings, but they are filled with a symphony of machines and complex processes that must all happen perfectly to produce usable film. And they do so reliably and consistently. That takes smart people who work together well.
And finally, the product that comes from this place: film. It is special. It creates beautiful physical artifacts of moments and performances that you can hold in your hand, project on a screen, or share on the internet. And those images have far more permanence than a hard drive, SSD, or cloud storage.
You can learn more about the visit and the future of film in Team 2 Films’ full documentary here. Have you shot on film recently, and do you think it has a future alongside digital? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below!