By Amy Swain

This week, The Somerville Theatre will be holding the 70 MM & Widescreen Festival. It is the first festival of its kind in New England, and promises to be a very unique and entertaining experience.

The theater has described the event as a “celebration of the greatest motion picture format of all time – 70mm film!” They will also screen a handful of widescreen 35mm features “that emphasize the grandeur of the big screen.”

The language the theater uses romanticizes the films and use of vintage displays so that it seems to be an event not to be missed. And if that doesn’t grab you, the lineup might. Films from different decades, of different genres, and for different audiences are available daily.

Director of Operations Ian Judge is certainly enthusiastic about it: “It is an opportunity – in some instances the LAST opportunity – to see amazing films, projected in their native and original formats, on a big screen, in a classic setting. Some of these titles are so incredibly rare – like Disney’s Sleeping Beauty – that they may never screen in a movie theater again.”

Judge also revealed how rare and special a production of this sort is. “Since we are among the very few theaters on planet earth that can still show 70mm film, and indeed show it properly, it is a natural fit for us. We’ve been dying to do it since renovations to our projection booth a few years back made it possible.” So, rare indeed!

The theater hopes to make this an annual event, and advance ticket sales has given reason to believe it is possible. The event will take place between September 16 and 25. Passes for the full festival as well as individual showings are available, as well as show times and all other information can be found at somervilletheatre.com/70-mm-presentations.