London, UK. Sept 5th, 2012 – Christie®, the global leader in digital cinema projection, has announced that for the first time its 4K DLP® Digital Cinema Projector platform will feature among the screenings at this year’s 56th BFI London Film Festival, in partnership with American Express; at the same time other popular Solaria™ Series 2K projectors will also be used in some of the participating cinemas.
Richard Boyd, the BFI’s head of technical services, confirms that BFI Southbank will be using its own newly-installed Christie CP4230 4K projector in the main NFT1 screening room during the course of the Festival, which takes place from October 10-21.
Of the recent acquisition, he said, “It was important to be ready for 4K and we are incredibly excited by the new possibilities, particularly the high frame rate, which will keep us at the cutting edge of the technology.”
Using the new Series 2 DLP Cinema® technology from Texas Instruments, Christie’s CP4200 platform was the first superior 4K DLP Cinema® solution to reach the market, offering 4096 x 2160 pixels from the 1.4″ Enhanced 4K 3-chip DMD DLP Cinema chip.
It has been quite a year for the BFI, which reached its pinnacle this summer with The Genius of Hitchcock, the restoration of the film director’s silent films made between the years 1925 and 1929, in which Christie played an active role. Richard Boyd also confirmed that the new 4K restoration of Lawrence of Arabia will show at BFI Southbank later this year as an extended run, featuring the new Christie CP4230 projector.
After last year’s event, showcasing 204 feature films and 100 shorts from around the world over 16 days, the 56th BFI London Film Festival is much anticipated within Europe’s cultural calendar.
Stated Richard Nye, Christie Cinema Sales Director, EMEA, “The 56th BFI London Film Festival marks the latest milestone in the long journey that the BFI has taken with Christie into the digital world over the past decade. We’re delighted that this flagship institution is continuing to back Christie platforms in the new era of 4K resolution as it continues to promote education about film and the moving image.”
With over 80 years’ experience in cinema to call upon, Christie has played an important role in the BFI’s development over the past decade, providing sponsorship and training support. Starting with first generation DLP technology, the BFI subsequently embraced each new generation of Christie’s DCI-compliant projectors and Richard Boyd, confirms that BFI Southbank will shortly be standardising on Christie 2K and 4K platforms throughout the NFT1, NFT2, NFT3 and Studio cinema complex.
As one of the BFI’s commercial partners, Christie has been associated with the London Film Festival for the past eight years. During that time it has also collaborated closely with the setting up ofEurope’s only Digital Test Laboratory and supported Skillset (the Sector Skills Council for the Audio Visual Industries).
Richard Boyd added, “Christie is a tried and tested platform which gets high usage in demanding and high profile events – and it works consistently. We are therefore well placed to comment on the reliability of the technology — as well as the visual clarity and brightness of the projectors.”
Christie’s dominance is characterised by its involvement in Europe’s major film festivals, such as the Cannes International Film Festival, the Moscow International Film Festival and the San Sebastian Film festival — and beyondEurope with the Toronto Film Festival.
As for the highly-regarded BFI London Film Festival, this continues to champion creativity, originality, vision and imagination. The Festival annually showcases feature films, documentaries, shorts, animation and artists’ film and video, attracting leading international filmmakers, industry professionals and the media, together with a public audience of over 132,000 for a two week showcase of the best in contemporary world cinema.
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