Spend a week on beautiful Orcas Island, WA investigating celluloid film as a physical medium, learning to make your own emulsion, exploring various intriguing hand processing techniques, and pushing the creative and aesthetic limits of the artistic handmade filmmaking process from start to finish. Our home base is located right at the water's edge - and whether you choose to camp in the great outdoors or take advantage of limited indoor accommodations in the lodge, the setting will provide an inspirational backdrop for an intensive immersion in all aspects of filmmaking. The week will also likely include an overnight filmmaking excursion to uninhabited Sucia Island, designated as a Washington State Park. Throughout the week, we will share gourmet meals al fresco featuring the Handmade Film Institute's near-legendary vegan cuisine. All materials are provided, and participants will have access to both conventional and underwater filmmaking equipment, as well as onsite darkroom and printing facilities.

First offered in the summer of 2008, this backpacking expedition into the pristine Mt. Zirkel Wilderness features an exploration of zero-emissions filmmaking and a philosophical immersion into the nature of artmaking itself. We transport an entire simplified handmade filmmaking apparatus on our backs, carrying the necessary chemistry, film stocks, cameras, editing tools and projection equipment up to our campsite at 10,500 feet. Once established, the base camp becomes a filmmaking studio en plein air - the streams hydrate our chemistry, the sun dries our film, and the darkness of the night provides the limitless darkroom in which we work.

Now in its tenth year, this is the Handmade Film Institute's foundational workshop. We spend a week at 8200 feet in the Rocky Mountains engaged in a comprehensive investigation of film as a physical medium. As film artists, we will delve into a detailed exploration of celluloid film stocks and development processes with an eye to unlocking and expanding their potential as artistic media. Choose your own spot to pitch a tent in the beautiful forests and meadows surrounding the lodge, and get ready for a focused, introspective and inspirational week. The week includes a filmmaking excursion to the Indian Peaks Wilderness, one of Colorado's most scenic preserves located at the Continental Divide. Workshop participants will have access 24/7 to full darkroom and printing facilities, and all materials and film stocks are provided. Past participants rave about the gourmet vegan meals and the sense of creative community that is nurtured during mealtime conversations under the big tent. If you're after a transformative experience through a thorough, intensive, lab-based study of the film medium, this is the workshop for you.