Background:
Soho Film Lab is the last commercial lab to print 16mm film in the UK. However, it has recently been taken over by the US Company Deluxe, who have decided, as part of their worldwide policy, that 16mm is no longer a commercial priority and therefore to stop printing it with immediate effect.

Soho Film Lab, now named Deluxe Soho, has been told to take no new orders.

This is devastating news for many artists and filmmakers who continue to work with 16mm print, and to the museums, distributors and institutions fighting to preserve and raise the already fragile visibility of the most significant art form of the 20th century.

16mm continues to be an important medium for artists and filmmakers in the UK and worldwide and is frequently on show in major museums, galleries and festivals here and abroad. Works on film are also an important part of many international collections. There has also been a huge revival of interest in 16mm within the visual arts in the last 10 years by a new generation of artists and this renewed use of 16mm continues to expand significantly.

There is a constant demand for 16mm prints in Soho Film Lab. Contrary to what is imagined, 16mm print is still a small but viable market.

There is a cultural separation between art and the cinema industry that runs the labs. Cinema sees only digital as the future, but within art, both are important.

The complete disappearance of 16mm print production facilities in the UK represents a scandalous cultural loss both in the UK and abroad.

Petition:
We, the undersigned, ask that Ron Perelman, owner of Deluxe, and Ken Biggins, Managing Director of Deluxe Europe allow Soho Film Lab, London to remain a specialist lab, printing conservation quality 16mm & 35mm prints.

Link here to sign the Petition:
http://www.gopetition.com/petition/43288.html

The Save 16mm in the UK petition to Ron Perelman & Ken Biggins / Deluxe was written by Save16mmUK and is in the category Arts & Entertainment at GoPetition.