While most talk about the future of film centers on technology, copyright and piracy, Berlin-based author Stephen Barber looks back at the tradition of the cinematic experience for the moviegoer as a means of previewing future film habits.

For his latest book Abandoned Images (2010), Barber photographed a series of rundown (and many disused) film theaters in Los Angeles, each originally built in the early 20th century. Once majestic palaces where throngs of people would gather to witness the latest spectacle, they now stand as decrepit throwbacks to the (dare we say it) "golden days of cinema", with Barber arguing that perhaps the decay of these buildings is the tangible semiotic of the changes that film has undergone in the digital society, presenting an argument that film must find ways of adapting to survive and safeguard its inherent sense of wonder.

Tonight, Barber will present passages from his book alongside film festival curator Verena von Stackelberg. Reservations are necessary. Send an RSVP to info@dialogueberlin.com.