The digital era arrives at the Catalan Film Institute
Anthony Garcia has spent 41 years in the projection booth of Filmoteca de Catalunya, working across its various Barcelona locations. He is widely regarded as a last practitioner who blends deep craft with a touch of nostalgia. A man who carefully places reels of celluloid onto projectors and ensures that the light reflected on the screen is perfectly calibrated. It feels like a real-life version of Cinema Paradiso, a tribute to the people who keep classic film alive. Thousands of chemically processed films have passed through his hands, and more recently, digital files have joined the workflow to reflect both classic and contemporary titles. He began as a projectionist in the Filmoteca in November 1981 and plans to retire on March 10. Is this the closing of an era? [Cited from Filmoteca de Catalunya oral histories]
Garcia recalls starting very young, at age 14, assisting his father who managed a small film library at the German Institute. He learned to design projects, organize events, and stage exhibitions. At 17, he began apprenticing in the professional cinema space he owned at the time. The family library, located on Merchants Street in Barcelona near the Cathedral, shaped his path. [Cited from Filmoteca de Catalunya oral histories]
Before and after completing military service, he presented minor cycles at the Fundació Miró, including a program devoted to Pier Paolo Pasolini in collaboration with the film library. He also spent a season at the Atlàntida cinema in Sant Andreu and collaborated with Drag Màgic, a film cooperative founded in 1971, by showcasing films across Catalonia. [Cited from Filmoteca de Catalunya archival notes]
He was invited to become the head of the projection booth here when the Spanish film library was involved, and there has never been another projectionist in the Catalan cinema in that role. He worked at the Padró cinema, the Travessera de Gràcia theater, then in Aquitania and finally at the Raval headquarters. [Cited from Filmoteca de Catalunya chronology]
The question naturally comes to mind. Do you like Cinema Paradiso, Giuseppe Tornatore’s film about a boy who admires the town’s projectionist? Garcia replies yes, explaining how it captures the old projection system, the carbon arc lamp, and the way nitrate film can glow. He notes that in the Travessera room, carbon lamps powered the projection and that the projectionist controlled the height and angle of the mirror to achieve the best possible illumination on the screen. [Cited from Filmoteca de Catalunya interview]
Projection issues are common, especially with black and white films. Garcia explains that working with black and white celluloid is more challenging than color. Depending on how the image is projected, some areas can appear bluish or brown because the light interacts with the print’s positive elements. The color sensitivity is less problematic, but monochrome films demand delicate handling to preserve contrast and tone. [Cited from Filmoteca de Catalunya technical notes]
On the topic of film stock and archival quality, he mentions a rare magnetic print of 2001: A Space Odyssey. He notes that magnetic sound prints are unusual because they use different perforations, and that the first full feature he screened at a school in Barcelona’s Tres Torres district was Stanley Kubrick’s Space Odyssey, shown with his older brother. Over time, the trade shifted, and his focus moved toward engineering in service of cinema. [Cited from Filmoteca de Catalunya reminiscences]
The arrival of digital
After decades of working with photochemical film, digital projection arrived with both advantages and drawbacks. The change began on the way to the Raval room, Garcia recalls, and he remembers some thinking the photochemical method would endure a bit longer. It did not. Soon after, major directors announced they would stop producing 35mm prints of their films, a shift Garcia describes as rapid. The main drawback he identifies is the cartridge load. The film must be uploaded to the projector’s server, a slow process. If a screening lasts two hours, it takes roughly two hours to load, and verification becomes more complex. In contrast, handling a 35mm print allows for quicker status checks, subtitles, and music cues. [Cited from Filmoteca de Catalunya modernization notes]
Today, only a few filmmakers have the opportunity or the means to shoot on 35 or 70 millimeter stock. Names like Quentin Tarantino or Christopher Nolan are among the notable exceptions. For Garcia, digital cinema feels like observing a painting: clean and precise, almost sterile. Traditional film, with its photochemical backing, delivers subtle, almost imperceptible movements as light warms the frame. Digital, by comparison, presents a different aesthetic without the same tactile warmth. [Cited from Filmoteca de Catalunya transition analysis]
When asked about the screenings that linger in memory, he mentions many works by John Ford and classic film noir, along with Bergman’s photography, Chaplin’s humor, and the enduring appeal of the more traditional cinema. He also recalls iconic titles like 2001, Alien, and Blade Runner as memorable experiences that shaped his work in the darkroom. [Cited from Filmoteca de Catalunya retrospective notes]