Anthology Film Archives

THE MISSION OF THE ORGANIZATION IS TO PRESERVE, EXHIBIT AND PROMOTE WIDER UNDERSTANDING AND SUPPORT FOR INDEPENDENT, NONCOMMERCIAL AND AVANT-GARDE CINEMA. THE ORGANIZATION MAINTAINS AND OPERATES AN INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED FACILITY FOR THE PHYSICAL PRESERVATION, EXHIBITION AND STUDY OF ESSENTIAL WORKS OF FILM AND VIDEO ART. IN ADDITION, TO ITS FILM PRESERVATION AND PUBLIC SCREENING PROGRAMS, THE ORGANIZATION OFFERS IN- PERSON ARTIST APPEARANCES, LECTURES, TOURS AND SEMINARS FOR VISITING SCHOOL GROUPS; PUBLISHES PROGRAM CATALOGS AND BOOKS OF SCHOLARLY RESEARCH; AND MAINTAINS AN EXTENSIVE RESEARCH LIBRARY THAT SERVES STUDENTS, SCHOLARS AND WRITERS ASSOCIATED WITH UNIVERSITIES, MUSEUMS, ARCHIVES AND CINEMAS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND ABROAD. THE ORGANIZATION'S PRIMARY ACTIVITIES ARE TO EXHIBIT A BROAD PROGRAM OF HISTORIC AND CONTEMPORARY CINEMA; TO PRESERVE ITS OWN VAST COLLECTION OF RARE AND UNIQUES ARTIST-MADE FILMS; AND TO COLLECT AND PUBLISH DOCUMENTATION IN THIS FIELD.

FILM AND VIDEO EXHIBITIONS: THE ORGANIZATION MAINTAINS AND OPERATES TWO THEATER SPACES THAT ARE USED FOR FILM AND VIDEO EXHIBITION ON A DAILY BASIS. THE ORGANIZATION'S OWN FILM COLLECTION IS PRESENTED THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF EACH YEAR, AND IS PROGRAMMED TO PROVIDE REGULAR ACCESS TO MANY OF THE MASTERPIECES OF FILM HISTORY, WITH A SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON INDEPENDENT AND AVANT-GARDE CINEMA. THE ORGANIZATION ALSO PRESENTS NUMEROUS FILMS AND FILM SERIES CURATED FROM SOURCES OUTSIDE ITS OWN COLLECTION, INCLUDING RETROSPECTIVES, SINGLE- EVENING PROGRAMS OF EXPERIMENTAL FILMS OLD AND NEW, AND THEATRICAL PREMIERS OF FEATURE FILMS AND DOCUMENTARIES FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD.

PUBLICATIONS AND REPRODUCTIONS: INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED FOR ITS DEDICATION TO THE HISTORY OF INNOVATION, AVANT-GARDE AND EXPERIMENTAL CINEMA, THE ORGANIZATION PUBLISHES EDUCATIONAL CATALOGS AND BOOKS IN THE FIELD, WHICH WOULD HAVE NO OTHER PROSPECTS FOR PUBLICATION BECAUSE OF THE HIGHLY SPECIALIZED SUBJECT MATTER. OUR PUBLICATIONS ARE SOLD TO COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY BOOKSTORES AND DIRECTLY TO TEACHERS AND STUDENTS FOR RESEARCH AND STUDY PURPOSES.

FILM AND VIDEO PRESERVATION AND ARCHIVES: THE ORGANIZATION STORES APPROXIMATELY 20,000 FILMS AND 5,000 VIDEOS, MANY OF WHICH MIGHT NO LONGER EXIST WITHOUT THE ORGANIZATION'S EFFORTS IN OUR CLIMATE CONTROLLED VAULTS. WE PRESERVE AN AVERAGE OF 25 FILMS EACH YEAR, DEPENDING ON FORMAT, LENGTH AND PROJECT COMPLEXITY, MAKING NEW NEGATIVES AND PROJECTION PRINTS OF FILMS THAT ARE UNIQUE AND/OR THREATENED BY DECAY, INSURING THAT THESE CRITICALLY AND CULTURALLY IMPORTANT WORKS WILL BE AVAILABLE TO AUDIENCES AND SCHOLARS FOR DECADES TO COME.

LIBRARY AND RESEARCH: THE ORGANIZATION'S LIBRARY HOUSES THE MOST EXTENSIVE COLLECTION OF RESEARCHY AND ARCHIVAL PAPER MATERIALS RELATED TO AVANT-GARDE AND EXPERIMENTAL CINEMA IN THE COUNTRY (AND PERHAPS THE WORLD). THESE COLLECTIONS ARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE BY APPOINTMENT, AND HAVE BEEN WIDELY ACCESSED BY STUDENTS, SCHOLARS, PROFESSORS, WRITERS AND CURATORS AS A UNIQUE RESOURCE IN THE FIELD. THE ORGANIZATION IS A NONLENDING LIBRARY, BUR OFFERS PHOTOCOPY FACILITIES AND IS BUILDING A DIGITAL IMAGE DATA BASE OF ITS RARE PAPER MATERIALS THAT WILL BE UNIVERSALLY ACCESSIBLE ONLINE. IN 2022, THE ORGANIZATION PLANS TO OPEN AN EXPANDED FACILITY SHOWCASING A NEW FOURTH FLOOR LIBRARY ADDITION ON TOP OF ITS EXISTING BUILDING. THIS NEW LIBRARY WILL BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, GREATLY EXPANDING PUBLIC ACCESS, ALONG WITH THE FORTHCOMING COLLECTIONS WEBSITE.