Episode 041: Alexa Raisbeck, Technician/Projectionist

Alexa is a technician or what you might formerly know as a projectionist at the BFI Southbank, as well as being an artist and academic working to highlight and practice with celluloid film. It’s quite a nerdy and technical chat, in the best way possible I think.

I knew very little about what it takes to project a film, despite having been to countless 35mm screenings at the BFI and having watched silent films on a projector at university, so it felt quite overdue to hear Alexa talk through the process. We also talk about how it feels to work in a part of the industry that has a bit of a sell-by date on it and can be quite exclusionary, as well as Alexa’s artistic work and what’s she doing to try and raise the profile of the profession.

I hope you learn something from this interview, more than anything. There’s a whole world that operates behind us in the projection room and I am really grateful to Alexa for letting me peek behind the curtain.