So I watched the full YouTube video below, and it struck a chord with me. Titled, Grain: Analog Renaissance, this documentary didn’t feel like just another aesthetic experiment recorded for the masses - it felt like proof. A flickering, beautifully imperfect reminder that film is quietly, confidently, making its way back.
Within the video, many photographers ( I also express their views) share that the way the light catches the grain on film, the fall-off in the shadows, the texture you can almost feel with your fingertips - it’s everything digital still struggles to replicate, and it doesn’t lean on nostalgia; it leans on emotion.
For years, we were told streaming had won. That cinema, real cinema, would dissolve into content queues and algorithmic oblivion. But what the data - and more importantly, the atmosphere - shows is something very different. The lockdown years reignited a love for the cinematic ritual, especially among younger audiences. They’re not just bingeing - they’re buying tickets, buying prints, setting up old projectors in their bedrooms. This YouTube video captures it all in miniature. It’s not polished. It’s not pristine - film is alive.
This film resurgence isn’t about looking back. It’s about choosing texture over tidiness. The scratches, the warble of a worn frame, the flicker as light spills across the film - those so-called flaws are what give it life. In a world obsessed with sharpness and clarity, people are craving something that feels real again.
It’s happening globally, too. From Lagos to London, photographers are picking up expired 35mm film, hand-spooling canisters from 100ft bulk rolls, and building stories with what they have.
The younger audience is exhausted by the overproduced, clinical images. They’re leaning into honesty, mood, and moments that linger with imperfections.
So yes, film is back. Not as a trend, not as a quirky choice - but as an antidote to everything digital promised and in some cases didn’t deliver.
We’ve spent a decade watching pixels try to feel human. Turns out, all we really wanted was something we could feel.
Check out guides to the best film cameras, to the best 35mm film, and to the best darkroom equipment
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