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Help us build Navire Argo!

We have made significant progress with the Navire Argo at Éclair project – but we still need to find a large part of the funding before we start the renovation of the building!

After a year of fundraising, we have gathered approximately 2 million euros to renovate the building that will house Navire Argo, primarily through our public sector partners (CNC, Île-de-France region, Seine-Saint-Denis department), the support of the city of Épinay-sur-Seine, and also thanks to the crowdfunding campaign which helped us to get the project off the ground.

We are relaunching this crowdfunding campaign, with a focus on the cinema that we will open.

This soon-to-be cinema, located next to the entrance to the Éclair complex, was once a screening room for clients who came to view films that were being finalized, and was only used by a few people at a time!

After renovations, we will inaugurate a 70-seat cinema with a projection booth specially equipped for screening film prints – right where these prints were (and will continue to be) made! Navire Argo will be a unique venue in France and Europe and will keep the experience of photochemical film projection alive for decades to come, by means of an eclectic mix of historical works shown on their original format and contemporary films made on film.

A second space will be dedicated to pedagogical activities, ranging from youth and school workshops to professional training sessions. This space will also be used for live performances, installations, and exhibitions, most notably during the annual festival that we will organize.

At the entrance, a lobby-bar will be a convivial meeting place where you’ll be able to get a drink before the screening or savor a hot soup while discussing the film you just saw.

Every donation counts! With this campaign, we are seeking to raise €50,000 in France and €50,000 abroad, for a total of €100,000 out of the €700,000 needed to complete funding and start renovations for the entirety of Navire Argo (both our artist-run film lab and the cinema) in the spring.

All our donors will be invited to visit Navire Argo during an open-house day once we open!

We are also offering:

– Donations between €50 and €299: 10 tickets (shareable with friends and family) for your first screenings at Navire Argo!

– Donations between €300 and €2,999: a year-long unlimited pass to attend as many screenings as you like!

– Donations between €3,000 and €9,999: a 5-year unlimited pass to attend as many screenings as you like, and the possibility of screening a film of your choice!

– Over €10,000: a life-long pass to all future screenings at Navire Argo!

If you are a French tax resident, don’t forget that you can receive a tax deduction thanks to our partner Artutti. This means that a €100 donation will cost you only €34, a €1,000 donation only €340, etc., as the difference will be deducted from your taxes.

And, of course, you can also support us by spreading the word about our crowdfunding campaign (facebook post link here) and by signing the call for support at https://navireargo.org/en/support-navire-argo/!

Photomec processors for sale

We are selling to the benefit of the Navire Argo project the three Photomec processors that are still present at ÉCLAIR labs in Epinay-sur-Seine, France. These machines are currently set up in the future premises of the Navire Argo. 

Manufactured between 1997 and 2000, two of these machines are designed for color negative ECN-2 and one is a Black & White neg/pos machine.

The ECN-2 machines were used by ÉCLAIR at 100fpm (1800 m/h) and the B&W between 25 and 133 fpm (420 to 2400 m/h) depending on the process. They are complete and in running order even though they haven’t been used since 2015.

Andy and David Wright from Photomec (UK) would be willing to assist with the dismantling of the machines before they can be shipped and reinstalled. These machines are still state-of-the-art and very similar to the machines manufactured by Photomec to this day.

We can also propose an experienced technician ready to relocate these machines to your lab and make sure they work once reconstructed.

If you are interested, please get in touch and make an offer to nicolas@l-abominable.org