There are a few labs around that can do this. I haven't done it in several years, but I have made film elements from data files at Alpha Cine Labs in Seattle. I think that Duart in NY and a few places in LA do it as well. As about "Filmout" services.

Hey, unless there's some contextual or thematic reason to have film projected in your gallery showing I would advise against it. One, since you are exhibiting as a student, I'm assuming other graduating students will be exhibiting as well, which means you will have little say over the installation. If it was just you, then maybe you could arrange whatever you wanted. But if not, you may not have the support to get what you want.

A 16mm print will cost you money and will be in mono sound. I am not sure about the services at Alpha Cine Labs, but Duart is expensive. I processed most of my first feature there, and they are great, but you pay for it. But the big labs do not maintain their baths for 16mm as well as their cash cow of 35mm. At least when I was there, you had to wait until they had enough volume of 16mm jobs to get processed. I had some pretty dirty negatives.

There is also the problem that your first print will not be correct color-wise. If you don't care then you can just take the first print they give you and go with that. The projector's quality will be based on it's mechanical upkeep, the intensity/color of the bulb, and the rollers. Given that 16mm isn't used that much, you could get the film snagged and watch your exhibition become a live experimental visualization of destruction.

My point is don't add an X-factor to your graduation project if you don't have to. Just enjoy the time with friends and family and have a drink. You don't want to miss it because of an old piece of technology that might cause you trouble.

Oh, and you can't loop the playback.

Yup. Based on responses here I will be going digital. It is a shame, IMO. Digital projection still looks like crap up close as far as I am concerned. I may instead go with an LCD monitor. I would prefer a projected light source image over a backlit monitor one, but digital projector screen door effect just bugs the heck out of me, and at least a good monitor won't have so much of that going on. Also, while we (students) will personally be renovating the space and installing our own work, I Doubt i will be able to get a dark room/space. In a brightly lit gallery, a projector would tend to get washed out. An LCD monitor should look better in a lit room. Perhaps it is time to buy one of those off brand eBay U2711s.

We are doing two separate shows that (back to back) will be up for almost a month. I will look at rental, but I really do not want to spend a large amount of money renting. The thing with renting is (obviously) it is money spent, no projector or screen to keep when it is over. I will talk to my college. Perhaps they might be willing to pay the rental in which case renting a good projector would be the way to go. But if I'm paying myself, I'll just buy a decent monitor or projector so that I don't waist too much of my money.

Yes, I'm pretty set on digital at this point. It is still a shame, though. In the future, there is still a place for much better projectors. Hopefully in the future something more advanced than LCD comes around that more closely resembles an image projected through celluloid.