The Open Road (1924)
2009
2008
The following position has just been announced by the National Film and
Sound Archive (NFSA) in Australia.
The ideal candidate will have senior management experience
in a collecting institution. Applications close 26th May 2008. Further information on the NFSA can be found at www.arts.gov.au and www.nfsa.afc.gov.au (15 May 2008) CHAIR: Murray Weston DEPUTY CHAIR: Sue Howard SECRETARY: Marion Hewitt TREASURER: Iola Baines (15 May 2008) http://ssa.nls.uk/index.cfm. The Archive have also produced a new teaching and learning pack for schools. 'The Second World War in Scotland: The Home Front' is a DVD compilation with accompanying booklet. It contains extracts from films on topics including: The pack costs £15.00. Contact ssaenquiries@nls.uk for more information or to order a copy. (15 May 2008)
2007
2006
The British Universities Film & Video Council has been elected as an Observer member of the Film Archive Forum. The BUFVC is a representative organisation which promotes the production, study and use of film and related media in higher education and research. The BUFVC was instrumental in setting up the Forum in 1987, and from that date it has been supplying a secretariat for the Forum and, until recently, its Chair. The BUFVC also hosts the FAF website. (December 2006) The issue of sustainable core funding for the Yorkshire Film Archive and the other English regional film archives was raised in Parliament on 4 December in an adjournment debate. Phil Willis, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, described the importance of the Archive's work as a social, historical and educational resource, its contribution to the knowledge economy, and the threat to its existence under present core funding arrangements. Shaun Woodward, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, responded, welcoming film archives as a subject of debate, and pointing to the ongoing development of a national strategy for moving image archive provision currently being led by the British Film Institute, due for publication early in 2007. The Hansard transcription can be read here. (December 2006). On 31 October representatives from the Film Archive Forum and the British Film Institute gave evidence to the Culture Media and Sport Select Committee inquiry, Caring for our Collections. An uncorrected transcription of the testimony can be read here, and a video recording of the session can be seen streamed from Parliamentlive.tv. (December 2006) Janet McBain, Curator of the Scottish Screen Archive has won an award for Outstanding Achievement in Film for her work as Curator of the Scottish Screen Archive, at the Lloyds TSB BATFA Scotland Awards for 2006. For further information, see here. (November 2006) Leo Enticknap, Director of the Northern Region Film and Television Archive, is leaving the NRFTA in November to take up the post of lecturer at the Institute of Communication Studies, University of Leeds. (October 2006) The Media Archive for Central England is moving from the University of Nottingham to the University of Leicester. Its new address (from 9 October) will be 1 Salisbury Road, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RQ, tel. 0116 252 5066, email: macearchive@le.ac.uk. (October 2006) Luke McKernan is standing down as Chair of the Film Archive Forum, after just under seven years. Luke McKernan is Head of Information at the British Universities Film & Video Council, which has closely supported the Film Archive Forum since its inception in 1987. James Patterson, Director of the Media Archive for Central England and FAF Deputy Chair, will take over until a new Chair is selected. (September 2006) The National Council on Archives has joined the Film Archive Forum as an Observer member. The National Council on Archives was established in 1988 to bring together the major bodies and organisations, including service providers, users, depositors and policy makers, across the UK concerned with archives and their use. It aims to develop consensus on matters of mutual concern and provide an authoritative common voice for the archival community. It has been closely associated with the UK film archiving sector in recent years, and the Film Archive Forum is a member of the NCA. (September 2006) As part of a general rebranding exercise at the British Film Institute, the bfi National Film and Television Archive has been renamed the BFI National Archive. The BFI National Archive is one of the world's greatest collections of film and television. The archive contains more than 50,000 fiction films, over 100,000 non-fiction titles and around 625,000 television programmes. (September 2006) The Culture Media and Sport Select Committe has announced a new inquiry, Caring for our Collections. This inquiry is a sequel to the Committee’s recent inquiry and Third Report, Protecting and Preserving our Heritage, which concentrated on the historic environment, namely built heritage and archaeology. The focus of new inquiry will be on museums and galleries, cultural property and archives. The themes of the inquiry include the adequacy of the budget for museums, galleries and archives, the impact of the London 2012 Olympics on Lottery funding for their sector, acquisition and disposal policies with particular reference to due diligence obligations on acquisition and legal restrictions on disposal of objects, and the remit and effectiveness of DCMS, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council and other relevant organisations in representing cultural interests inside and outside Government. For further information, see here. The deadline for submissions is 28 September 2006. (July 2006) The British Library has become an Observer member of the Film Archive Forum. The British Library has a significant collecting and service presence in the area of sound and moving image (including housing the British Library Sound Archive), and it is keen to play a wider part in facilitating the development of a sustainable national framework for film heritage in the UK. Other Observer members of the Film Archive Forum with a national overview of archival provision are the Museums Libraries and Archives Council and the National Archives. (June 2006) UNESCO has launched a public consultation on the objectives, practicalities, costs and expected results of a “World Day for Audiovisual Heritage” to be celebrated annually on 27 October to build global awareness of the various issues at stake in preserving the audiovisual heritage. The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage can be a means of building global awareness of the various issues at stake in preserving the audiovisual heritage. Public consultation is a crucial part of the feasibility study, and it is open to everyone. UNESCO has therefore established an online platform with background documents, a public forum and a questionnaire. Read more and download a copy of the questionnaire here. (June 2006) The South East Film & Video Archive has changed its name to Screen Archive South East. The Screen Archive South East was established at the University of Brighton in 1992 and the name change signifies a new beginning for the collection. The archive's function is to locate, collect, preserve, provide access to and promote research and use of screen material related to the South East of England. The name change captures a wider collection interest for the archive - now focusing not only on film and video but also on the magic lantern and on the new digital media of the 21st Century. The Screen Archive South East's new website is available at: www.brighton.ac.uk/screenarchive.
The launch of a new e-resource, Screen Search, also means that for first time the archive’s unique collection is searchable online. The resource can be found at: www.brighton.ac.uk/screensearch. (May 2006) London is alone among the English regions in having no publicy-funded archive collecting with a specifically regional focus. A survey conducted by ALM London in 2004 showed that there was a large number of archives, libraries and museums in london which held relevant audiovisual material, but that fw of these collected proactively, and a high proportion had significant concerns about care, storage and access. Moving image material made in or about London is remaining uncollected, is at risk or inaccessible to users. Following an option appraisal, ALM London is working with key partners (including the Film Archive Forum to address these gaps and established what is being described as a London Screen Archive Network.
A development post is to be hosted by Birkbeck College during 2006-07, with joint funding from the regional screen agency, Film London. A web presence for the network will be created, signposting users to key London collections. A series of exhibition and outreach prgrammes will be run by Birkbeck's new Centre for Film and Visual Media Research at venues in central and outer London. (April 2006) The Musems Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) has joined the Creative Archive Licence Group. joining the BBC, the bfi, Channel 4, the Open University and Teachers TV. Membership of the group will allow museums, libraries and archives to engage in the debate about enabling wider access to moving image materials in their collections. MLA are not themselves releasing content under the terms of the Creative Archive Licence, rather they will be seeking to help smaller audio video archives across England to release their content. For further information, visit www.mla.gov.uk. (March 2006) Applications are now being accepted for the 2006 Maryann Gomes Award, providing funding assistance for regional moving image archivists, librarians, and curators to attend the annual Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA) Conference in Anchorage, Alaska, October 11-14, 2006. AMIA established this award in 2003 in memory of Maryann Gomes, Director of the North West Film Archive, who was instrumental in the creation of AMIA's Regional Audio-Visual Archives Interest Group and served as its first chairperson. The Award is for up to $1,000. For further information, visit www.amianet.org/awards/gomes/gomes.html. The deadline for applications is 30 April. (March 2006) The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) has secured grants totalling £225,000 to the English Regional Film Archives to increase public access to moving image materials relating to the Second World War. This funding has been provided by the Big Lottery Fund, as part of the 'Their Past, Your Future' strand of the 'Veterans Reunited' project. The projects will digitise images of Home Front footage and footage relating directly to the experiences of local people who lived through and fought in World War 2, and the period of immediate post-war reconstruction, coupled with wide-ranging outreach programmes to bring this material to new and existing audiences in schools, community and voluntary groups, museums, libraries and archives. Archives taking part in the programme include Film Archive Forum members the Media Archive for Central England, the Northern Region Film & Television Archive, the South East Film & Video Archive, the South West Film & Television Archive, the Wessex Film & Sound Archive, the Yorkshire Film Archive, plus Birkbeck Film & Media Research Centre, which is hosting a year-long development project to further a London Screen Archive Network. (January 2006) The Imperial War Museum has been awarded £997,000 from the Public Sector Research Exploitation fund (PSRE) to advance the digitisation of its collections, in particular significant parts of its Film and Video Archive. Over a three-year period, the grant will enable the Museum to facilitate increased access to this tremendous research resource and to maximise the commercial potential of this significant asset. By the end of the project, researchers will have remote access to enhanced cataloguing, research and viewing facilities, as well as the means for online payment and licensing and, increasingly, a system of online delivery. (January 2006) The Scottish Screen Archive is relocating in February 2006, which will necessitate temporary closure of services for users. The Archive¹s full production library service, viewing rooms and duplication facility will close for a period of 6 weeks, from 6 February. A skeleton enquiry and access service for commercial users and for general public will remain open throughout this period. However there will be a period of one week 17th to 23rd February when the viewing collections are being relocated. During this period requests for hires may be made, but immediate physical access will not be possible until the following week. The new Archive telephone and fax numbers will be active from January 2006. There will be no change to email addresses. Mail will be accepted from 27 February at: 39 - 41 Montrose Avenue, Hillington Park, Glasgow G52 4LA, tel. 0845 366 4600 fax. 0845 366 4601. (January 2006)
2005
2004
ALM London and the British Film Institute are organising a general training day on caring for moving image collections on 8 December, designed for collection owners in London. Intended as a general introduction, rather than something for professional film archivists, the day will feature an introduction to the fundamentals of moving image archiving, acquisition procedures, cataloguing, viewing access, rights issues, storing, handling and preserving film and video material, identification, viewing equipment, environmental and packaging requirements, conservation techniques and generating surrogate copies. Further details are available from the ALM web site. (October 2005)
London is the only English political region without a dedicated public sector moving image archive. Film London, the strategic agency for the film and media sector in London, is inviting applications from London-based organisations to assist in developing a London film archive network. The aim of the network is to bring together the many different organisations across London which currently hold moving image material in order to improve access to the collections. The project is based on the recommendations made in the report by Paul Habbeshon Associates, Strengthening film archive provision for London. The deadline for applications is 7 November. Further information, and a downloadable copy of the PHA report, are available from the Film London site. (October 2005)
The new Director of the East Anglia Film Archive will be Richard Taylor, formerly Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Film and Television Commission. Richard Taylor oversaw the development of the highly successful Digital Film Archive while at the NIFTC. He takes up his post in August. (July 2005)
The First World War documentary film The Battle of the Somme, held by the Imperial War Museum Film and Video Archive has been added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's Memory of the World register. The programme was established by UNESCO to raise awareness of the documentary heritage, and to encourage its preservation. The Battle of the Somme is the first submission accepted for the Memory of the World programme from the UK. For further information, visit Memory of the World. (July 2005)
Marion Hewitt has been appointed Service Manager of the North West Film Archive. Marion was previously Acting Head of the NWFA. (June 2005)
The British Film Institute has announced that its new Head of Collections and Information will be Darren Long, currently Director of Operations at the ITN Archive. Long will lead in defining and delivering the strategic priorities for the bfi's library and archive collections. He takes up his post on 6 June. (May 2005)
Manchester Metropolitan University is advertising for a Service Manager to head the North West Film Archive. For details, visit www.mmu.ac.uk/jobs. The deadline for applications is May 6th. (April 2005)
The University of East Anglia is advertising for a new Director of the East Anglian Film Archive, to replace David Cleveland who retired last year. Further details are available from the UEA web site. (April 2005)
The most extraordinary find of early film material in decades is being given its public premiere as a BBC television series and a touring programme. Mitchell and Kenyon were film producers based in the north of England in the early years of the twentieth century. They filmed local scenes, such as football matches, parades, workers leaving factories and street scenes, in many towns throughout Britain. 800 reels of Mitchell and Kenyon films were dscovered in a shop basement in Blackburn, and the result, fully preserved by the bfi National Film and Television Archive, provies an astonishing view of life a century ago. A touring programme (with DVD to follow) is underway, and on 14 January BBC2 begins a three-part series based on the collection, The Lost World of Mitchell and Kenyon. For further information, visit www.bfi.org.uk/collections/mk/index.html. (January 2005)
The Yorkshire Film Archive has produced its new website, with details of the Archive's functions, scope and collections, including information on donating material and access to its database. The address is www.yorkshirefilmarchive.com. (January 2005)
The Film Archive Forum has had a complete redesign of its web site. The new site includes the new sections Access, Guidance, Publications and Frequently Asked Questions, a map of the public sector moving image archives across the UK, and revised information throughout. The site is designed and hosted by the British Universities Film & Video Council. The address is www.bufvc.ac.uk/faf. (September 2004) David Cleveland retired as Director of the East Anglian Film Archive at the end of August. David created the East Anglian Film Archive, the first of the UK's regional film archives, in 1976, having previously enjoyed some fame as 'The Prof' on the BBC children's television programme Vision On. Out of that original initiative a network of regional and national public sector moving image archives has grown to cover the whole of the UK, as represented by the Film Archive Forum. David and the EAFA instituted the MA in Film Archiving at the University of East Anglia in 1990, and its graduates have gone on to bring their skills to archives, production companies and media centres across the world. David also oversaw the EAFA's move into the new Archive Centre in Norfolk in 2003. Although retiring as Director of the Archive, David will continue to teach on the MA course. Jane Alvey is Acting Director pending the appointment of a new Director. (September 2004) ALM London, the strategic body for archives, libraries and museums in London, is conducting a mapping survey of audiovisual materials held in collections across the capital. This is the first step in determining what regional film archive provision might be created for London, the one English region without a public sector moving image archive devoted to it. An options strategy is being developed, which will look at the data generated by the mapping survey. Further information, including an online version of the survey form, is available from the ALM London web site. (August 2004) The report of the Archives Task Force has been published, under the title Listening to the Past, Speaking to the Future. The aim of the Archives Task Force was to carry out an in-depth review and analysis of the state of the UK's archives. The Report recognises the major role that the UK's audiovisual archives play in contributing to the cultural life of the nation. Specifically, the Report notes the concurrent development of the UK Audiovisual Archives Strategy, and supports the key recommendations of that strategy. Further discussions will now follow, to see how these recommendations may be acted upon, including the development of a UK Audiovisual Archives Forum. For further information, and a downloadable copy of the Archives Task Force report, visit the Museums Libraries and Archive Council web site. (March 2004) The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council has published Hidden Treasures: The UK Audiovisual Archives Strategic Framework. The document provides a blueprint for the future development of audiovisual archives across the UK. The document was commissioned by MLA and produced by a steering group comprising members of the British Library Sound Archive and the Film Archive Forum. Hidden Treasures argues that the lack of a strategic focus for national and regional planning in the audiovisual archives sector has led to insufficient levels of funding and investment for core activities, and a very real concern that a significant amount of the UK's moving image and sound archive heritage could be lost. The document proposes that the national strategic and funding bodies should work with the audiovisual archives to develop a national framework of institutional provision in which national, regional and local responsbilities are respectively understood and well resourced, with the aim of ensuring comprehensive coverage for audiovisual archive activity across the UK. To download Hidden Treasures visit the documents page. (March 2004) Re:source, the Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries, has announced that from now on it will be called the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), with the web address http://www.mla.gov.uk/. MLA is an Observer member of the Film Archive Forum. (February 2004) The Yorkshire Film Archive celebrated the opening of its new premises at the Fountains Learning Centre, York St John College, on 21 January. The state-of-the-art facilities have been paid for through the Heritage Lottery Fund. HLF Chair Liz Forgan gave a keynote address at the opening. (January 2004) 2003The Scottish Screen Archive has published an online Access Catalogue, which represents those titles in the Archive which have been preserved and copied onto a viewing format. The site includes some moving image clips, stills and links to contextual information. The catalogue is available at http://www.scottishscreen.com/archivelive. (December 2003) The BBC is transmitting a series, Nation on Film (Tuesday evenings, BBC2) which includes material from Film Archive Forum members. There is a programme website, at http://www.bbc.co.uk/nationonfilm/, which includes a wide range of streamed video clips from the Northern Region Film and Television Archive, South West Film and Television Archive, North West Film Archive and East Anglian Film Archive. Films from other Forum members archives will be added to the series in 2004. The series follows on from a pilot series, England on Film, which focussed on the North East, and it is complemented by Scotland on Film, which uses material from the Scottish Screen Archive. (September 2003) The Health and Safety Executive has issued a new leaflet, The Dangers of Cellulose Nitrate Film. The leaflet is aimed at private individuals and voluntary groups who have or find old film in domestic or other non-workplace premises. It gives advice on how to identify cellulose nitrate films, why such films are hazardous, how to recognise signs of decomposition, and what to do if you have cellulose nitrate film, with contact points for information and advice. The leaflet is available from the HSE, tel. 0151 951 3214, and can be downloaded from this site from the Publications page. (September 2003) The House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select
Committee has published its report 'The British Film Industry' (18
September), following evidence and representations from a number of
bodies, including the Film Archive Forum. The report focuses chiefly on
the British film industry, but it also considers the cultural role of
the British Film Institute, its National
Film and Television Archive, and the role of the regional film
archives (represented by the Film Archive Forum). The report includes
arguments from the Forum about the important position film archives play
in the cultural life of the country, the criticisms the Forum has of the
UK Film Council's funding of the archives, and the Forum's ongoing plans
to develop a UK audiovisual archives strategy in partnership with the British Library Sound Archive and Resource.
The report's findings state: "The bfi should take the lead within the
UK film and TV archive community and champion the whole sector,
particularly the regional archives, alongside safeguarding its exemplary
reputation amongst international peers. An over-arching national
strategy promoting both good curatorship and increasing accessibility
should be vigorously pursued.". The report can be downloaded from the Select Committee web site. (September 2003) The Media Archive For Central England has now been accepted into full membership of the Film Archive Forum. MACE was formed in 2000 and serves the East Midlands and West Midlands regions from its current base at the University of Nottingham. (September 2003) The National Archives has become an Observer member of the Film Archive Forum. The National Archives was formed in April 2003 out of the Public Record Office and the Historic Manuscripts Commission. The National Archives has one of the largest archival collections in the world and aims to become a national resource for anyone interested in, or with responsibility for, documents relating to British history. (September 2003) The catalogue of the Wessex Film and Sound Archive is now available online, as part of the Hampshire Record Office online catalogue. The WSFA collection covers not just Hampire, but all Central Southern England including Berkshire and the Isle of Wight. To access the catalogue, visit the Hampshire Record Office web site, or visit the databases section of this web site. (August 2003) Moving History is an online guide to the UK's public sector moving image archives, designed to encourage the use of such archives for scholarly research. It has been produced for the AHRB Centre for British Film and Television Studies by the South East Film and Video Archive. The site contains 100 film clips, arranged by archive or by theme, in-depth descriptions of the archives, and guidelines for researchers. It is available at http://www.movinghistory.ac.uk/. Moving History was launched on 10 June 2003 and shares the same name as the Film Archive Forum's 1999 document, which included a statement of principles for the public sector moving image archives in this country. (June 2003) The Imperial War Museum Film and Video Archive has put up a substantial part of its catalogue online at http://www.iwmcollections.org.uk/. There are some 22,900 records, representing 40% of the collection, which mostly covers the First and Second World Wars. (April 2003) The London Film Commission and the London Film and Video Development Agency have come together (from 1 April) to form Film London, the new strategic for the development of film and the screen sector in London. The CEO will be Adrian Wootton. London is the only one of the English regions without a designated public sector moving image archive. (April 2003) The Northern Region Film and Television Archive now has a website, which has a guide to the collection, information for depositors, a variety of documents on the archive for download, and still images. The address is http://www.nrfta.org.uk/. (March 2003) 2002A report on the Hidden Treasures conference is available from the British Universities Film & Video Council web site. (December 2002) The National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales has put up part of its catalogue of 3,000 titles online, at http://screenandsound.llgc.org.uk/cronfa/main.html. The online database will be added to regularly. (December 2002) At the Hidden
Treasures conference on 7 October an announcement was made of the
development of the UK's first audiovisual archive strategy. The British Library National
Sound Archive, the Film Archive Forum, and Re:source are
co-operating to develop this strategy, and have announced that ABL
Cultural Consulting have been appointed as the consultants for this
project.
The purpose of the Strategy is to:
The completed strategy will be launched in London in June 2003. For further information, contact Frank Gray, Director, South East Film & Video Archive (w.f.gray@bton.ac.uk) or Rachel Martin and Nick Dixon, ABL Cultural Consulting (info@ablconsulting.com). (October 2002) Hidden
Treasures: The impact of moving image and sound archives in the 21st
century took place at the British Library Conference Centre on 7
October. The conference attracted a large attendance from public sector
and commercial archives, screen agencies, funders, researchers and
educationalists. Speakers included Joan Bakewell (BFI), Liz Forgan
(HLF), Mark Wood (Resource), James Patterson (Media Archive for Central
England) and Crispin Jewitt (British Library National Sound Archive).
The conference was chaired by Gillian Reynolds, the radio critic, and a
keynote address was given by Professor Sir Christopher Frayling.
A very successful day saw examples of 'good practice' from archives
across the country, especially touching on issues of cultural
diversity and social inclusion; while the point was clearly made that
the UK regional public sector moving image and sound archives are
greatly underfunded. It was the aim of Hidden Treasures to
emphasise the importance of moving image and sound archive to the UK's
heritage and cultural life, and to argue for a level of funding that
matched such importance. The development of a strategy document for the
UK's moving image and sound archives was announced in the same day (see
news story above). Further news on the outcomes of the conference will
follow on this site and through the British Universities Film & Video Council's
publication Viewfinder. (October 2002) The Imperial War Museum Film and Video Archive is to be awarded the 2002 International Documentary Association (IDA) Preservation and Scholarship Award. The IWM's Keeper of the Film and Video Archive, Roger Smither, will accept the award during the 18th Annual IDA Distinguished Documentary Achievement Awards ceremonies on December 13 at the Directors Guild of America Theatre. For further information on this signal honour for a film archive, go to http://www.documentary.org/. (October 2002) The Film Council has announced its UK-wide strategy at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. The strategy focuses on the commitment of the Film Counil and its three national partners, Scottish Screen, Sgrîn Cymru Wales and the Northern Ireland Film and Television Commission to addressing a range of different issues, including that of preserving the UK's film heritage. The document, Working Together, Making a Difference: The work of the public film agencies in the UK can be read online from the Film Council web site. (August 2002) The Hidden Treasures conference on moving image and sound archives in the UK is now taking bookings. The price per delegate is £120, with a special offer of £99 for anyone booking before the end of August. For all details of bookings, speakers, programme, organisers, sponsors and the themes of the conference, visit the conference site at www.bufvc.ac.uk/HiddenTreasures. (July 2002) The funeral of Maryann Gomes took place in Manchester on Tuesday 11 June. An obituary written by Janet McBain of the Scottish Screen Archive and Roger Smither of the Imperial War Museum Film & Video Archive can now be read at www.bufvc.ac.uk/faf/gomes.htm. (June 2002) Maryann Gomes, Director of the North West Film Archive, died on 2 June. Although it was known that she was terminally ill, the suddenness of her death has come as a great shock to all in film archiving. Further information and an obituary notice will follow in due course. (June 2002) The Hidden Treasures conference now has a website at www.bufvc.ac.uk/HiddenTreasures. The conference has been called to consider the position of moving image and sound archives in the UK, and will be held at the British Library Conference Centre on Monday, 7 October 2002. Speakers confirmed so far include Liz Forgan (Heritage Lottery Fund), Lord Evans (Re:source), Crispin Jewitt (British Library National Sound Archive), James Patterson (Media Archive for Central England), Trevor Phillips (Greater London Authority), and Laraine Porter (Broadway Media Centre). The conference will be chaired by the journalist and broadcaster Gillian Reynolds. Further details on the programme, speakers and booking will follow soon. For information, email HiddenTreasures@bufvc.ac.uk. (June 2002) The National Film and Television Archive (NFTVA) is to be known formally under that name once more, having been previously absorbed within a larger body called BFI Collections. David Pierce has been named as the new Curator. (May 2002) The Yorkshire Film Archive has succeeded in attracting £645,500 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The award will go towards securing specially designed premises within the new Learning Centre at York St John College, due to open in September 2003. (April 2002) Hidden
Treasures: The impact of moving image and sound archives in the 21st
century is a conference called to consider the position of moving
image and sound archives in the UK. Organised by the British Library National Sound Archive, the
Film Archive Forum, the National Council on Archives and the British Universities
Film & Video Council, Hidden Treasures considers the
central importance of moving images and sound to our heritage and
present-day culture, the necessity of adequate funding for the archives
that preserve such materials, and asks why there is a lack of any
coherent infrastructure for moving image and sound archives in the UK.
Hidden Treasures aims to be a major shaping event for archives
in the UK. It will be of importance to museums, archives and libraries;
to arts bodies, cultural consortia, producers, researchers, and all who
make use of moving image and sound for learning, teaching, exhibition
and documentation; and for all those who wish to have a greater
understanding of how these media fit within the national picture on
archives. Hidden Treasures will take place at the British
Library Conference Centre, 7 October 2002. Further details of
speakers, contents and registration will be publicised in due course.
For further information, contact Luke
McKernan at the BUFVC. (January 2002) The Media Archive For Central England (MACE) has launched its website, which includes details of the developing profile of the youngest of the UK's public sector moving image archives. The address is www.nottingham.ac.uk/film/mace. (January 2002) 2001The South East Film and Video Archive has launched its website, which includes a history of the archive, details of its activities, background information on local filmmakers, catalogue information, and a selection of 25 film clips from representative films within the collection. The site can be found at www.bton.ac.uk/sefva/. (November 2001) David Pierce is to join BFI Collections as its new Head of Preservation on 28 August. David Pierce formerly worked for the US government and is well-known as a film historian and researcher, and for his work in film restoration and preservation. (July 2001) The Film Council launched its £6 million fund for Regional Investment for Film in England (RIFE) on 27 June. RIFE 'will provide cash support for a range of film activities including film production, screen commissions, cinema exhibition, film training, archives and education'. The fund is an annual commitment for three years. For further details, visit the Film Council web site. (June 2001) At the start of April 2001 the Wales Film and Television Archive and the National Library of Wales' Sound and Moving Image Collection merged to form the National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales. The NSSAW is financed jointly by the National Library of Wales and by Sgrin. (May 2001) Leo Enticknap has been appointed as the new Director of the Northern Region Film and Television Archive. He takes up his new post on 29 May. (May 2001) The British Universities Film & Video Council has just released its Researcher's Guide Online (RGO). The RGO is an online version of the BUFVC's established reference source The Researcher's Guide, and now lists nearly 550 film, television, radio and related documentation collections in the UK and Ireland. All of the Film Archive Forum members are listed, as well as a wide range of other moving image and sound collections in universities, museums and private hands, as well as from the commercial sector. The RGO will be regularly updated by the BUFVC, and can be accessed at www.bufvc.ac.uk/rgo. (April 2001) The Yorkshire Film Archive has received formal confirmation of a Stage One pass from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The YFA submitted a substantial bid towards the capital build costs as part of a relocation project which will reposition the film archive in new, purpose built premises in the centre of York in 2003. The YFA will be housed in part of the new Learning Centre for the College of Ripon and York St John. The project also includes a significant increase in core staffing which will enable the Archive to expand its future services and activities across the region. (April 2001) The Imperial War Museum Film and Video Archive is hosting a five-day conference The Holocaust, Genocide and the Moving Image: Film and Television Representations since 1933, 23 - 27th April 2001, which will explore a number of themes such as the 'Film as Witness' and the 'Holocaust in feature films'. Significant titles on the subject held in the Museum's archive will be screened as well as rarely seen foreign titles. For further details, visit the IWM web site. (April 2001) The TSW Film and Television Archive for the South West has been renamed the South West Film and Television Archive. Anne Fleming, formerly Curator of the National Film and Television Archive has joined the British Universities Film & Video Council to head the Content side of its new Managing Agent service for moving images and sound online to UK higher and further education. (March 2001) Chris Galloway, Director of the Northern Region Film and Television Archive, is leaving to take up his new post of Keeper of Fiction Films in BFI Collections on January 15th. Anne Fleming, Curator of the BFI's National Film and Television Archive, left the NFTVA at the end of December. (January 2001) 2000The Film Council has published its strategy document Film in England: A Development Strategy for Film and the Moving Image in the English Regions. This document was produced in consultation with the Film Archive Forum, and announces new money for film archives with the English regions. The document makes several mentions of film archving and the Film Archive Forum as a representative body, with the statement that the Film Council's policy responsibilities include archives and collections, meaning "the full spectrum of film, video, and moving image work archival activity, eg acquisition and disposal, preservation and conservation, cataloguing, access, distribution and exhibition, education and training and publication of material". The full document can be read on the Film Council's web site . (December 2000) Re:source, the Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries, has been accepted as an Observer member of the Film Archive Forum. (December 2000) The Scottish Film and Television Archive has now been re-named the Scottish Screen Archive, with the strapline 'Scotland's moving image collection'. (October 2000) The Media Archive for Central England has now been located in Nottingham, within the Institute of Film Studies, School of American and Canadian Studies, at the University of Nottingham. (September 2000) In June 2000 the Film Archive Forum was elected to full membership of the National Council on Archives. This marks an important step in the greater recognition of film archives within the wider archival community. (June 2000) The catalogue of the Scottish Film and Television Archive is now available on-line from the Performing Arts Data Service. Other Film Archive Forum members with on-line catalogues available are the East Anglian Film Archive and the North West Film Archive. (June 2000) The Film Archive Forum has now published its website, hosted by the British Universities Film & Video Council. The address is www.bufvc.ac.uk/faf. It contains background information on the Forum, contact details and links to the member archives, and a copy of the Moving History document. (April 2000) On 4 April 2000 the Film Archive Forum organised its first public event, at the Strangers' Dining Room, the House of Commons, to announce the publication of Moving History: Towards a Policy for the UK Moving Image Archives. The event was hosted by David Lepper MP, and featured an invited audience of MPs, Film Archive Forum members, and representatives from Regional Arts Boards, universities, and institutions such as the British Film Institute and the Film Council. The main speakers were Frank Gray of the South East Film and Video Archive and Sue Howard of the Yorkshire Film Archive, and a compilation film was shown of highlights from the collections of Film Archive Forum members. An account of the event is given in the May 2000 edition of the BUFVC journal Viewfinder. Regional launches of the document are also planned. (April 2000) |
Film Archive Forum
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