‘Colour in Film’ was launched by Dr. Elza Tantcheva-Burdge, Colour Group of Great Britain, and Prof. Dr. Ulrich Ruedel, HTW (University of Applied Sciences), Berlin, as an initiative aimed at fostering and stimulating the interaction between the two vibrant, but separate, colour film restoration and colour science communities.

The conference originated in a half-day symposium organised by the Colour Group (GB), which took place at City University of London in February 2015. It was entitled ‘Colour in Film with the British Film Institute’ and focused on the work of curators and restorers at the British Film Institute (BFI) in restoring early colour film and included a presentation on the practical measurement of colour by Prof Mike Pointer, Colour Group (GB).

Colour in Film’ became an international conference the following year, being held in March 2016. It was organised by the Colour Group (GB) in collaboration with the British Film Institute and HTW, Berlin. The main organizers of the conference were Prof. Dr. Ulrich Ruedel, HTW, Berlin and Dr. Elza Tantcheva-Burdge, Colour Group (GB).

The second international conference followed in 2017 and was co-organised by the Colour Group (GB, Dr. Elza Tantcheva-Burdge), HTW Berlin (Prof. Dr. Ulrich Ruedel), and University of Zurich’s research project ERC Advanced Grant FilmColors (Prof. Dr. Barbara Flueckiger), in cooperation with the BFI British Film Institute and The Eastmancolor Revolution Project (Prof. Sarah Street, Universities of Bristol and East Anglia).

The Third International Conference Colour in Film was again organised by the Colour Group (GB), HTW Berlin and the University of Zurich, in cooperation with the BFI, and featured a special workshop by University of Zurich’s projects ERC Advanced Grant FilmColors and SNF Film Colors. Technologies, Cultures, Institutions (both led by Prof. Dr. Barbara Flueckiger).

The Fourth International Conference, Colour in Film, organised by the Colour Group (GB), HTW Berlin and the University of Zurich, in cooperation with the BFI, took place from February 25-27, 2019, in the BFI Southbank’s NFT2.

The Fifth International Conference ‘Colour in Film’ was held in London from Wednesday, March 11 to Friday, March 13, 2020, organized by the Colour Group (GB), HTW Berlin and the University of Zurich with a special focus on the results from the research projects ERC Advanced Grant FilmColors and SNF Film Colors. Technologies, Cultures, Institutions.

The Sixth International Conference ‘Colour in Film’ took place from September 25-28, 2023 at the Lichtspiel / Kinemathek Berne, Switzerland. Iarked the last time it was once again co-organized by Prof. Dr. Barbara Flueckiger for the University of Zurich, prior to her retirement, again with Dr. Elza Tantcheva-Burdge for Colour Group (GB) and Prof. Dr. Ulrich Ruedel for HTW Berlin. It was held as a hybrid event due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The conference’s theme was animation and color film technology.

The Seventh International Conference, Colour in Film, was organized by Colour Group GB, HTW Berlin and Filmarchiv Austria, and took place from December 11-13, 2023 (with an evening pre-screening on the 10th) in the latter’s gorgeous Metrokino in Vienna, Austria.

Stay tuned as we plan Colour in Film’s return to London in 2024!

Top image: photomicrograph of a chromolithographic loop, G. Koshofer Collection;
from the Microscopy Project HTW Berlin and University of Zurich, https://filmcolors.org/.
Photograph by Sreya Chatterjee, HTW Berlin.