Which film format should I use for a theatrical release?

I originally posted this over on the software forum, but since I'm being politely ignored over there, I thought I'd come here and ask for your help instead.

So, here is the situation: the film I am currently working on has already been screened before, and I never ran into any issues with the format back then. However, the current hosts are telling me, "H.264 are not suitable for the cinema," yet they haven't actually specified which format they would prefer me to use.
I exported the film from Adobe Premiere Pro using the H.264 format about a year and a half ago, mainly because a colleague of mine—who works professionally in film and is a cinematographer by trade—suggested it would be perfectly fine.

I did a bit of digging on Google and stumbled upon an article listing the preferred formats for cinema screenings, but curiously, none of them seem to be directly available as an export option within Premiere.

The list included things like these:

• DCP File – This is likely going to become the gold standard for top-tier festivals, which is honestly a bit frustrating and doesn't bode well for the indie crowd. (....)
• Film – This used to be the standard and is slowly being phased out by the DCP file, except in many arthouse theaters that can't quite afford to upgrade to the new digital projectors and are unfortunately struggling to stay afloat... (....)
• Quicktime file from a laptop – Honestly, it is so incredibly simple. I often wonder why more festivals can't just do this. It is how I wish everything was handled, and it is how we manage our WMM screenings. (......)
• Blu-ray – This format might actually be what saves film festival screenings if they could ever figure out a reliable way to project it. (.....)
• HDCAM SR – This is a proprietary Sony tape format that is finally starting to phase out, which, if I'm being honest, is a relief. Regardless, it provides a full 1920×1080 resolution and is essentially the highest quality screener you can find (for the tech enthusiasts out there, it delivers a 4:2:2 image, so while it isn't entirely uncompressed, that doesn't matter much for projection... it's mostly relevant for color grading). (.....)
• HDCAM – Sony's slightly smaller sibling to HDCAM SR, with a few notable distinctions. (.....)
• Beta SP – Much like digibeta, only lower quality and cheaper. I wouldn't recommend it. If you absolutely must screen in SD, you are better off going with Digibeta or a DVD, since making a DVD is more cost-effective than a beta, and the visual difference won't be significant.
• DVD – Believe it or not, your image quality isn't going to be significantly better on Digibeta or Beta compared to a standard DVD. DVDs are prone to scratching and can be a bit unreliable, but if you are submitting a fresh copy, you shouldn't run into too many issues... aside from the fact that you'll be projecting in a space designed for an image much larger than what you're providing.

So, my question is: which specific format should I select within Premiere to ensure this is ready for a festival screening on a large cinema screen?
(Please bear with me—I know I'm lacking the fundamentals here, but that is simply because I don't have any formal training in film, cinematography, or directing. I tend to take a very DIY approach, using software in ways it wasn't necessarily intended for, which, from an artistic standpoint, has always seemed to work out quite well so far).

When you look at the export options available within Adobe Premiere, you'll see quite a list:

Audio Interchange File Format
Microsoft AVI
Windows Bitmap
DPX
Animated GIF
GIF
JPEG
MP3
P2 Movie PNG
PNG
Targa
TIFF
Uncompressed Microsoft AVI
Windows Waveform audio only FLV
Audio Only
FLV / F4V
H.264
H.264 Blu-ray
MPEG4
MPEG2
MPEG2-DVD
MPEG2 Blu-ray
Windows Media

I was wondering if anyone might have some suggestions or advice on which ones to favor?

So, I was wondering—is it actually possible to take a film that’s already been saved and exported in a format that's supposedly lacking in quality for high-end viewing (like H.264) and then, once again, run it through Adobe Premiere Pro to export it into a different format without losing any sharpness or overall fidelity? My gut tells me the answer is a hard no, but I suppose there's always that tiny, lingering hope that I might be wrong.

I doubt you're gonna find much help here. This is more of a question for actual video pros, so you might have better luck over at Audio and Video Production.

I don't have enough experience to weigh in on your second question, so I’d just stick to logic like you're doing. What you should do right now is save two or three different versions from the original files. Storage isn't exactly breaking the bank these days, so it gives you some much-needed peace of mind.

If you take a look over here:

http://forums.support.roxio.com/topi...-on-projector/

you'll see that the most important factor is actually which projector you're using and what its specs are—basically, what the damn thing can actually support. If you know those limits, just tailor the resolution, quality, and file size to match the projector's requirements.

darkowl72 said:I don't have enough experience to weigh in on your second question, so I’d just stick to logic like you're doing. What you should do right now is save two or three different versions from the original files. Storage isn't exactly breaking the bank these days, so it gives you some much-needed peace of mind.

If you take a look over here:

http://forums.support.roxio.com/topi...-on-projector/

you'll see that the most important factor is actually which projector you're using and what its specs are—basically, what the damn thing can actually support. If you know those limits, just tailor the resolution, quality, and file size to match the projector's requirements.

The real headache is that those pro codecs they usually ask for? They’re ridiculously expensive.