In the wake of instant film’s sudden demise, this week a group of enthusiasts announced an unusual grass-roots effort to build a better Polaroid. Named for a famous Edwin Land quote (“Don’t undertake a project unless it is manifestly important and nearly impossible”), The Impossible Project is a handful of scientists and engineers in the Netherlands who are serious about bringing a new Polaroid-compatible integral film pack to mass production. To this end, they have rented one of Polaroid’s old assembly buildings and purchased all the specialized equipment contained therein.

I wish they would start by re-inventing peel-apart pack film (which I use with large-format cameras), but given the popularity of integral film it’s a sound decision and I’ll take what I can get!