BAL invites you to a unique two-day creative workshop with three film artists – true cinema magicians – RioJim (Étienne Caire) from Grenoble, France, Marek Pluciennik from Finland, and Andrea Saggiomo from Italy. Together they will lead an in-depth workshop focusing on two creative 16mm film copying techniques: DIY contact printing in the darkroom (for beginners) and film printing using an optical printer (more advanced).

During the workshop, we will create film copies using found black-and-white 16mm footage, which will be reprinted onto colour print film in order to better understand what happens between film, light, and chemistry. We will then explore editing and montage techniques to create multiple copy variations and tell new stories and evoke new sensations—using chemical variations, exposure (light) variations, creative arrangements, and more—working with small film fragments that form film loops.

Participants will learn hands-on DIY contact printing methods for creating 16mm film duplicates using any type of film material and then copying it onto colour print film, achieving vivid colours that resemble graphic art techniques. In parallel, we will also work with professional film printing on BAL’s new Neilson–Hordell optical printer, which allows for a variety of special effects on film—similar to those used by Peter Greenaway in his film Prospero’s Books, which was created using this very optical printer.

By projecting short film loops on a 16mm film projector, we will also explore expanded cinema practices, working with multiple projectors simultaneously.

Étienne Caire (France) is a filmmaker working with photochemical processes and live expanded cinema performances, often under the pseudonym RioJim. He is particularly drawn to abstract animation and to physically transforming film images through creative chemical processes. With over 20 years of experience in experimental cinema, RioJim has been a member of L’Abominable’s “102” space dedicated to experimental art and a co-founder of MTK, one of Europe’s first artist-run film laboratories, based in Grenoble.

Marek Pluciennik (Finland) is a film artist based in Helsinki. His work focuses on the materiality of film. He uses self-modified 35mm projectors and cameras to create unique cinematic projections. His works are primarily presented in performance contexts, making such projections a rare experience, especially given the specific technical nature of 35mm film projectors.

Andrea Saggiomo (based in Naples) is an artist working across expanded cinema, noise performance, and audiovisual experimentation. After founding a theatre group in 2007, he shifted toward underground performance practices, co-founding the impro-noise duo ASTEPBACK in 2011. That same year he launched 70FPS, a solo audiovisual project using self-built photosensitive sound devices in film and video feedback performances. He is a founding member of Ark-Film-Lab (Naples) and the founder of PASSO_RIDOTTO, an artisanal cinelab focused on affordable Super 8 processing and scanning.

Participation fee: 60 EUR
Participation is limited to 10 participants.
Registration by email: balticanaloglab@gmail.com
The workshop will be conducted in English.