Revitalizing Celluloid: An Exploration of Bio-Based Filmmaking

The motion picture film captures light on a physical medium, preserving stories, memories, and moments that gradually dissipate over time, reflecting the impermanence of life. Roland Barthes, in Camera Lucida, described photographs as mortal, their fleeting vitality doomed by light, humidity, and time: "Like a living organism, it is born... flourishes a moment, then ages... fades, weakens, vanishes" (Barthes, 1981). Celluloid, the vessel of analogue cinema, shares this fragility, but its legacy carries a darker burden: toxicity, environmental degradation, and the ghosts of its chemical origins. Yet, within this shadow lies an opportunity to reimagine filmmaking as an act of care, collaboration, and renewal.

This exploration the poetic and scientific pursuit of crafting bio-based film materials, a quest to unearth sustainable alternatives to traditional celluloid. It is a dialogue between past and future, art and science, human and non-human—a symphony of curiosity and experimentation.

The Origins of a Toxic Medium

Celluloid’s story begins in 1889, when Kodak unveiled its cellulose nitrate film, a revolutionary yet perilous invention. Its flammability and toxicity left scars on both human lives and the environment (Davis, 2022). The transition to cellulose acetate and polyester films in the mid-20th century marked a shift but not a solution. The gelatin emulsion, derived from animal bones, tethered the medium to an extractive cycle of exploitation. Each frame of film bore not only the weight of captured light but also the imprint of ecological harm.

One deeply immersed in analogue filmmaking began to critically interrogate the foundational aspects of their practice. This reflection prompted an exploration of the ethical and environmental implications inherent in storytelling through a medium laden with historical concerns. In response, bio-based materials were investigated as a means to reconsider and transform the materiality of film. Drawing from interdisciplinary methodologies, the endeavor sought to integrate the imaginative potential of the arts with the rigorous frameworks of scientific inquiry, fostering a dialogue between creative expression and empirical research.

Experiments in Bio-Based Materials

In the quiet hum of the lab, I encountered nanofiber cellulose (NFC) and microfibrillated cellulose (MFC), materials with the potential to replace celluloid’s toxic components. These plant-derived substances, combined with natural plasticizers like glycerol and agar agar, became the building blocks of my experiments. Layer by layer, I crafted a 16mm film base from NFC, aiming to hold the weight of images while being environmentally sustainable. This process explored how the material could withstand the technical demands of filmmaking, all while remaining gentle to the earth (Kääriäinen et al., 2020).

NFC’s fragility, however, revealed its limitations in the making process, presenting challenges in terms of durability. In contrast, MFC’s greater strength provided a structural counterpoint, offering more robust possibilities for creating the film. Natural dyes—indigo, turmeric, and lacca—were integrated to impart vibrant hues to the NFC-based film, their organic qualities reminding me of the natural sources from which they derived. The experimental process uncovered new textures, imperfections, and potentials within the film’s materiality, where the NFC seemed to communicate its own unique capabilities and constraints, becoming an integral collaborator in this unfolding narrative of sustainable filmmaking.

Image-Making as an Ecological Act

Beyond the substrate lay the question of emulsion—how to coax light into forming images on these bio-based surfaces. Cyanotypes, anthotypes, and phytograms became the methods of making, their non-toxic processes offering a kinder way to capture light. The sun became a darkroom, its rays etching delicate patterns onto films infused with plant-based solutions.

In one experiment, I pressed leaves onto turmeric-stained film, their intricate veins leaving ghostly imprints. In another, I watched as cyanotype chemicals transformed cellulose into a tapestry of blues and yellows, each hue a testament to light’s transience (Zinman, 2019). These images, ephemeral as they were, spoke of a filmmaking practice attuned to the rhythms of nature.

Artistic Research on the Verge of Science

This journey is rooted in artistic research, where the creative process itself generates knowledge. It draws from the collaborative potential of art and science, dissolving disciplinary boundaries to create something new. As Helga Nowotny observes, art and science share a common drive: curiosity and imagination. This ethos shapes my work, blending intuition with experimentation, and positioning art as a space for critical inquiry (Nowotny, 2011).

By collaborating with non-human materials—plants, bacteria, and light—the research challenges the anthropocentric lens through which art is often viewed. It invites us to see the environment not as a backdrop but as an active participant, a co-creator in the stories we tell.

Toward a Sustainable Cinema

The experiments conducted thus far are but the first steps in a longer journey. The merging of NFC and MFC has revealed a stronger, more flexible film base, while the use of plant-based emulsions has opened new aesthetic possibilities. Yet, challenges remain—brittle surfaces, fleeting images, and the persistent presence of bubbles in the material. These imperfections are not failures but invitations to continue, to refine, and to imagine.

What emerges is a vision of cinema that is not extractive but regenerative. A medium that honors the earth from which it is born. A practice that listens to the whispers of non-human collaborators and celebrates the beauty of impermanence.

Conclusion: Rewriting the Narrative of Film

In reimagining celluloid, this research seeks to rewrite the narrative of filmmaking itself. It is a call to embrace sustainability as not just a technical challenge but an artistic ethos. By weaving together material exploration, environmental ethics, and artistic practice, it offers a glimpse of what cinema could be—a living, breathing medium that carries the light of its stories with care and humility.

In the end, perhaps the true beauty of film lies not in its permanence but in its ability to fade, to return to the earth, and to make room for new stories to grow.

References

Barthes, Roland. Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography. New York: Hill and Wang, 1981.

Davis, Heather. Plastic Matter. Duke University Press Books, 2022.

Kääriäinen, Pirjo, Tervinen, Liisa, Vuorinen, Tapani, & Riutta, Nina. The ChemArts Cookbook. Espoo: Aalto University School of Arts, Design, and Architecture, 2020.

Nowotny, Helga. “Foreword.” In Biggs & Karlsson, The Routledge Companion to Research in the Arts. Routledge, 2011.

Zinman, Gregory. Making Images Move: Handmade Cinema and the Other Arts. University of California Press, 2019.