For his historical drama “Moulin,” which premieres in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, Oscar-winning Hungarian filmmaker László Nemes (“Son of Saul”) traveled back in time to WWII-era France to tell the story of Jean Moulin, a resistance fighter whose bravery helped liberate his country from Nazi occupation.
When it came to the exacting work of putting the finishing touches on the film, however, Nemes chose to stay closer to home.
As with his previous film, “Orphan,” which premiered last year in Venice, Nemes did post-production work at Budapest’s NFI Filmlab, where the director and the creative team behind “Moulin” — which was shot on 35mm by cinematographer Mátyás Erdély — processed nearly 200,000 feet of film stock using the lab’s new processing machines and developed negatives using innovative bleach bypass technology.
Senior colorist László Kovács said his team spent more than six months readying the film for Cannes, utilizing the expertise of what’s billed as the most complete and most experienced film laboratory in Central Europe.
““Moulin’ was color graded at NFI Filmlab,” said Kovács. “Baselight was an essential tool in utilizing the full spectrum of creative grading. The film offers a wealth of visual excitement that perfectly supports the atmosphere of the era and strengthens the film’s overall dramatic expression, thanks to Mátyás Erdély’s magnificent cinematography.”
As with “Orphan,” the original exposed negative and the final print for “Moulin” were developed using bleach bypass technology. “The bleach bypass positives were created from the digitally graded material, using a special film recording method, developed exclusively at the NFI Filmlab through collaboration with my team,” said Kovács. “The entire color grading of the film significantly contributed to reinforcing Mátyás Erdély’s cinematographic vision and the film’s narrative.”
The veteran colorist singled out the “precision required in grading the day-for-night scenes, which demanded highly coordinated collaboration across all departments.”
The process utilized the same technology applied by cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema in Jordan Peele’s “Nope,” “but taken a step further,” Kovács said, adding: “The final result is a night sequence with a visual impact that is truly astonishing to everyone.”
NFI Filmlab head Viktória Sovák noted that the entire post-production process for “Moulin” — which was co-produced by Budapest-based Pioneer Stillking Films — was performed at the lab, showcasing its full range of analog and digital services.
“It is important that the production did not only use analog during filming, but to achieve the full analog experience, a projection positive print was also created,” she said. “At the same time, digital technology was pushed to its limits as well, especially during the grading process.
“The final result — created through the combination of these unique analog and digital solutions — is truly extraordinary.”
Analog filmmaking is enjoying a “renaissance,” Sovák noted, citing examples including Christopher Nolan’s multi-Oscar-winning “Oppenheimer” and last year’s best picture winner, Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another.” Other films to complete post-production at the NFI Filmlab include Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things,” Pablo Larraín’s “Maria” and Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist,” which processed 26 reels of 70mm film stock in the Budapest lab.
“We believe that we have to perpetuate analog technology,” said Sovák. ”The challenge is, first of all, that analog machines are becoming obsolete and it’s increasingly difficult to repair them.
“We are conscious that NFI Filmlab’s new processing machines won’t do the job alone: We also have to perpetuate the knowledge,” she continued. “NFI Filmlab keeps continuously training its staff, and also transmits their knowledge to the younger generation of professionals. Fortunately, we found some unique and very talented analog-lovers in the new generation.”
