“Preserving the Avant-Garde” in San Francisco
This Monday the 4 Star Theater in San Francisco will screen a program of experimental films to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Avant Garde Masters grant program, a fruitful partnership between the NFPF and The Film Foundation.
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| Remembrance (1969), screening in the program "The Film Foundation: Preserving the Avant-Garde." |
Screening as part of the series “Scorsese: More than a Gangster,” the program is titled “The Film Foundation: Preserving the Avant-Garde.” Started in 1990 by Martin Scorsese, The Film Foundation has furthered the cause of film preservation by ensuring the survival of nearly 1,000 works of world cinema. Among these are 214 works (by 83 artists) preserved through Avant Garde Masters grant program, which is supported by the Film Foundation, administered by the NFPF, and receives funding from the Hobson/Lucas Family … Read more
NFPF-Preserved Films at the Century of 16mm Conference
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| Multiple SIDosis (1970), one of eight films screening in the Century of 16mm program “16mm Orphan Films Preserved through the National Film Preservation.” |
In 1923 Eastman Kodak introduced 16mm nonflammable film and radically changed the history of filmmaking, which became affordable and feasible to millions. The new format facilitated the rise of home movies and amateur moviemaking. Filmmaking was no longer the preserve of well-heeled industries—16mm democratized it.
To celebrate this momentous anniversary, the Indiana University Libraries Moving Image Archive has organized “A Century of 16mm,” which includes an academic conference, commissioned films, exhibitions of 16mm technologies, and screenings.
Among the conference programs, scheduled for Thursday, September 14th, is “16mm Orphan Films Preserved through the National Film … Read more
The NFPF teams with Silent Movie Day to screen THE UNKNOWN
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| Lon Chaney gives his most disarming performance in The Unknown (1927), screening at nine Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas on Sept. 30th. |
To celebrate silent film history and raise funds for film preservation, the National Film Preservation Foundation and Silent Movie Day are joining forces to present a special screening of Tod Browning’s macabre masterpiece, The Unknown. Featuring Lon Chaney and Joan Crawford, the film will screen on Saturday, September 30th—the day after Silent Movie Day—at nine Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas throughout the USA. Proceeds from the screening will go to support the NFPF’s preservation efforts. You can donate to the NFPF directly by clicking here.
Directed by horror legend Tod Browning and released in 1927, The Unknown is a highwater mark of Browning’s silent-era work and one of ten films he made with Lon Chaney. Set in … Read more
60 Orphan Films to be Preserved through the NFPF’s 2023 Grants
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| Pieces of a Dream (1974) will be preserved by Visual Comunications with NFPF support. |
The National Film Preservation Foundation is thrilled to announce the recipients of its 2023 federally funded grants, which will allow 31 institutions across 13 states and the District of Columbia to preserve 60 films from their collections. To see the full list of 2023 grant winners, click here.
A prominent connection between this year’s grant films is a focus on community, represented in diverse forms across the United States. Starting on the west coast, Eddie Wong’s Pieces of a Dream (1974), to be preserved by Visual Communications, tells the story of immigrant farm laborers who settled in the Sacramento River Delta town of Locke—a National Historic Landmark District—from the 1880s to 1970s. It examines the plight of Filipino farm workers stranded in rural … Read more
Four NFPF-Preserved Films Unspooling at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival
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| Norma Shearer going mad in Man and Wife (1923), preserved by UCLA Film & Television Archive. |
Next week the 26th installment of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival opens in San Francisco’s Castro Theatre. Four of the films have been preserved through grants administered by the National Film Preservation Foundation.
On Thursday, July 13, Doll Messengers of Friendship (1929) will screen during the free “Amazing Tales from the Archives” program. This short film commemorates a doll exchange between the U.S. and Japan that was initiated by the Committee on World Friendship Among Children. 58 dolls commissioned by the Japanese government from master doll makers toured the U.S. and were acclaimed as works of art. Doll Messengers of Friendship was screened at the local doll exchange ceremonies that comprised the tour. The surviving 9-minute … Read more