The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, established in 1944 with the purpose of organizing and overseeing the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion ...

’ educational and cultural activities, including the preservation of motion picture history. Although the current incarnation of the Academy Film Archive began in 1991, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences acquired its first film in 1929.

Preservation

Located in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Picture ...

at the

Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study The Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study The Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study is one of three Los Angeles-area facilities of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, located at 1313 Vine Street in central Hollywood. Precisel ...

, the Archive has a diverse range of moving image material. The Archive's collection comprises 107,000 titles and 230,000 separate items, including early American cinema, a vast collection of

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

s, filmed and taped interviews, amateur and private home movies of Hollywood legends, makeup and sound test reels, and a wide selection of

experimental film Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, parti ...

, as well as

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning films, Academy Award-nominated films, and a complete collection of every Academy Awards show since 1949. Since acquiring the

Packard Humanities Institute The Packard Humanities Institute (PHI) is a non-profit foundation, established in 1987, and located in Los Altos, California, which funds projects in a wide range of conservation concerns in the fields of archaeology, music, film preservation, a ...

Collection, the Archive has the world's largest known trailer collection. The Archive is also concerned with the preservation and restoration of films, as well as new technologies and methods of preservation, restoring over 1100 titles of historical and artistic importance.

Notable preserved projects

* Barbara Kopple's '' Harlan County, U.S.A.'' (1976) * Lewis Milestone's '' The Front Page'' (1931) * William Wellman's '' Wings'' (1927) * Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s '' All About Eve'' (1950) * Henry Koster's '' The Robe'' (1953) *Many Stan Brakhage films from the original elements * Curtis Harrington's '' Night Tide'' (1961; with support from the Film Foundation) *Eighteen films by

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of ...

(including ''

The Apu Trilogy ''The Apu Trilogy'' comprises three Indian Bengali-language drama films directed by Satyajit Ray: '' Pather Panchali'' (1955), '' Aparajito'' (1956) and '' The World of Apu'' (1959). The original music for the films was composed by Ravi Shanka ...

'') *

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...

's ''

Rashomon is a 1950 Jidaigeki psychological thriller/ crime film directed and written by Akira Kurosawa, working in close collaboration with cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa. Starring Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyō, Masayuki Mori, and Takashi Shimura as v ...

'' (1950; in conjunction with the National Film Center of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo and Kadokawa Pictures, Inc., funding provided by Kadokawa Culture Promotion Foundation and The Film Foundation; won the 2009

National Society of Film Critics The National Society of Film Critics (NSFC) is an American film critic organization. The organization is known for its highbrow tastes, and its annual awards are one of the most prestigious film critics awards in the United States. In January 2014, ...

's Heritage Award) * Robert Drew's ''

Primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works ...

'' (1960) * Howard Smith and Sarah Kernochan's '' Marjoe'' (1972)

Access

The Archive offers access to its collections to researchers and scholars. Based on availability, preservation status and condition of the materials, visitors may visit the

to arrange appointments through the Access Center. Additionally, the Academy Film Archive lends prints to non-profit institutions for screenings. In some circumstances, the Archive may be able to make collection materials available for licensing.

References

External links

Academy Film Archive WebsiteNational Film Preservation Foundation
{{Authority control Film archives in the United States Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Cinema of Southern California FIAF-affiliated institutions