There’s still a chance to save the beloved packfilm, as far as Florian “Doc” Kaps and his “Superheroes” are concerned. Today, we share an interview that gives us hope.
The beauty and wonder of peel-apart packfilm, sadly, is something that most of us who still shoot film today may no longer experience. Yet, there remains a glimmer of hope for a handful of people who are still hard at work trying to keep it alive. After successfully bringing back Polaroid Instant Film through the Impossible Project (now Polaroid Originals), Florian “Doc” Kaps has been hard at work with what he calls the “ultimate attempt” to save peel-apart instant film. Florian and one of his Superheroes, Uwe Schneider, tell us more in an interview video with Analog Things.
The long wait for a revival of peel-apart instant film, or packfilm, as it’s known to many, is not yet over, but people like Florian give us hope. Since 2016, he has been rallying film photographers and analog supporters to save packfilm. He also made efforts to meet Fujifilm and collaborate with New55 to make it happen. In the interview below, we get some insights about the motivations to keep the Save Pack Film campaign going, and ultimately ensure that this magical instant film will be around for the coming years.
For Florian, it’s more like a new chapter of the battle to save Polaroid instant film rather than a new analog adventure. With this new chapter comes a new set of challenges and obstacles, but he’s not ready to give up just yet. “Yes, it seems truly impossible. For more than two years, we are looking for solutions, but as you know me, I’m very stubborn and I won’t give up. So this is our last, ultimate approach to solve it.”
To give this last fight all the help it can get, Florian has also assembled his own team o “Superheroes” — the “crazy people from all over the world” who share the same commitment to save packfilm. “By combining what I call their ‘superpowers’ I think there is a really good chance to find a new way of restarting the production of peel-apart film,” he put it nicely.
One of these “Superheroes” is Uwe Schneider, whose “almost unlimited packfilm stock resources” will help fund the project and guarantee a supply of film until a new batch of packfilm is available.
Another important point raised in the interview is funding this new chapter, which the website describes in detail. Every 10 EUR from the sale of Uwe’s Fujifilm FP-100C stock will directly go into developing new packfilm prototypes, which they hope to present in a Kickstarter campaign slated for September 20th.
Check out the Save Pack Film website to find out more about Florian’s campaign and show your support.
Screenshot image from the video by Analog Things
