Launched in 2025, the Palm Springs 70mm Fest is a celebration of large-format cinema held at the Palm Springs Cultural Center’s Historic Camelot Theatre. Showcasing iconic films in spectacular 70mm, the Fest invites film lovers to experience cinema at its best in one of California’s great movie theaters.
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70mm is a wide-format film stock that is twice the width of standard 35mm film, delivering unmatched clarity, color, and exceptional detail. The larger film frame captures far more visual information, creating a richer image with greater depth and dimension.
Today, only a few dozen theaters in the United States are equipped to screen 70mm, making it a rare cinematic experience.
The Camelot Theatre in Palm Springs, California, originally built in 1967 for the Metropolitan Theatres chain, is a historic venue now operated by the nonprofit Palm Springs Cultural Center. When it opened, the state-of-the-art cinema was considered a “prestige roadshow house,” designed to present the era’s grand large-format film engagements, and was the first theatre of its kind in Southern California.
Equipped with expertly maintained vintage Norelco AA-II projectors and a larger-than-life screen, the Palm Springs Cultural Center’s Historic Camelot Theatre remains one of California’s best venues for experiencing 70mm film.
lauren@psculturalcenter.org
Lauren Wolfer grew up in Palm Springs and produces events in the city she calls home. Raised on classic film, she is honored to help tend the flame of superior cinematic presentation at the Historic Camelot Theatre. In addition to programming repertory cinema there, she is the co-founder and executive producer of the Coachella Valley Filipino Festival. By day, Lauren works in food justice policy, and is wildly grateful that both her work and creative projects center on things she cares deeply about.
samuelsmithpresents@gmail.com | samuelsmithpresents.com
Samuel Parker Smith is an award-winning filmmaker, screenwriter, editor, photographer, and podcaster based in Southern California, shaped by a lifelong love of genre storytelling and the immersive world-building of classic Disney Parks attractions. A published writer—whose work has appeared in The Cost of Paper, Vol. 5—Samuel has also been recognized by the Austin Film Festival Script Competition, ScreenCraft Contests, and Final Draft's Big Break Competition. He is a two-time Telly Award recipient for branded corporate content, and his music series Five Stories Up earned multiple awards at the 2012 LA Web Fest.
Roger has worked in a number of different industries and for many different theater chains. He has run more than two million feet of 70mm five perf film. Among the venues he has run 70mm include the Mann Chinese Theatre, the Fox Westwood Village Theater, the Bruin Theatre, and the Cinerama Dome. He currently runs Addams Engineering doing repair and installation of film projectors.
