The shift from celluloid to digital has had a profound effect on the nature of cinema, raising important questions about the past, present and future of the medium. Although Keanu Reeves may not seem the obvious choice to confront such complex issues, he proves an unexpectedly adept frontman/producer for Christopher Kenneally's terrific documentary Side by Side (2012, Axiom, 15), an intelligent, engrossing and (crucially) very entertaining dissection of the changing face of movies.

Part of Reeves's appeal is that he's clearly held in great affection and esteem within the industry, chatting easily to directors such as the Wachowskis and David Lynch, who in other company may prove more spiky. The roll-call of interviewees is extraordinary (Scorsese and Soderbergh, Linklater and Lucas, et al), but what's even more impressive is the way the film unpacks both the emotional attachments and the practical myths associated with now "old-fashioned" film.

A discussion about whether the sound of film running through a camera causes actors to up their game is particularly intriguing (when Reeves says it feels more "real", Lynch laughs that nothing in movies is "real"), while the admission from even diehard film stalwarts that digicams may now be on a par with their photochemical predecessors is telling.

The optimistic conclusion is that all the various formats of cinema (film and digital, 2D and 3D, even sound and silent) should live together in perfect titular harmony, although industrial forces are unlikely to allow that to happen in a world in which celluloid obsolescence affects everything from archiving to production. As for this documentary, it's as enjoyable and personal as it is insightful and wide-reaching; essential viewing in whatever format.

http://youtu.be/y-_9bdibXgU

2. Side By Side (August 30): It’s easy to think of Keanu Reeves only in terms of the laid-back persona of so many of his characters. But in Side By Side, he explores an artistic question more probing than how to make Wyld Stallyns the hottest band in the world: the rise of digital cinematography and the dwindling stock of film on which to shoot. " I ended up directing a film shooting digitally, and I would say, since we spoke last, certainly the digital has continued to grow and improve and something that kind of ties into why I went into doing the documentary in the first place in the sense of 'Is it the end of film?'"he explained. "I was much more skeptical that it would survive a year ago, and now, even though, you know, film stocks are getting harder to get, who’s going to develop it, there still seems to be an artistic pushback that I think will help it survive in a niche way, that there will be a way that it will hang on a little bit longer."

source:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/223812717708838/permalink/488631411226966/

http://www.kansascity.com/2013/08/28/4441903/filmmakers-debate-digital-v-film.html

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/TV/keanu-reeves-points-lens-at-film-vs-digital-debate-221438881.html

http://buzzymag.com/keanu-reeves-justin-szlasa-on-side-by-side/

It was on already at 1:30?

“We couldn't be happier to have "Side by Side" air nationally on PBS. To have our documentary reach such a large audience of discriminating viewers is truly an honor for our team. And of course, "Side by Side’s" story really started at Camerimage,” said Justin Szlasa, the producer of "Side by Side", referring to his and his team’s stay in Bydgoszcz in 2010, when they recorded a large number of interviews with Camerimage guests.

You can read more about the film on our website:
http://www.camerimage.pl/tresc.php?id=27172&lang=en&highlight=side+by+side&phase=side+by+side

Here's official trailer for "Side by Side":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFGJY_NJwwg

Below you can watch our 2012 interviews with Keanu Reeves, Chris Kenneally and Justin Szlasa:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFaU9vHqObo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWXJhLtXXC8

http://watch.weta.org/video/2365069419/

This is blocked in various places so I am sorry if you wanted to see the abridged version of Side By Side and you cannot.

'Side By Side' Producers Choose KODAK Film to Archive Critically Acclaimed Documentary

... someone got his way ;)

---

... someone got his way ;)

---

Oh he usually does. I remember something way back when Side by Side first came out that Chris said - either at the skype thing I attended or elsewhere. So this is before it was "officially" put on KODAK film.

To paraphrase he said KR had it transferred onto film, sealed and stored in some safe at his place. That KR was real paranoid afterwards about the possibility of it getting lost.

Expected nothing less from him...