Harvard Film Archive facts for kids
The Harvard Film Archive (HFA) is a special place at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It's like a big library for movies, also called a film archive or cinema. The HFA collects, saves, and shows movies. It has more than 25,000 films! It also keeps videos, photos, posters, and other movie-related items. These come from all over the world and from different times in movie history.
The HFA has a theater with 188 seats. Here, they show films every week. They also have a special center to help keep old films safe. In 2020, the Harvard Film Archive won a 2020 Webby Award for being a great cultural place online.
Contents
History of the Film Archive
The Harvard Film Archive started in 1979. It was founded by Robert Gardner, Vlada K. Petric, and Stanley Cavell. They were part of Harvard's Visual and Environmental Studies department. They received money from the Henry Luce Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The HFA opened on March 16, 1979. The first film shown was Lady Windermere's Fan. This was a silent film by Ernst Lubitsch.
Early Leadership and Growth
Vlada K. Petric was the archive's first curator. He helped the collection grow much larger. He also started the regular film screenings that happen all year. Petric retired in 1995. Bruce Jenkins took over as curator in 1999.
Changes at the Archive
In 2005, Harvard announced a change for the archive. The Harvard College Library would take over its management. This made some people at Harvard worried about the archive's future. Bruce Jenkins resigned soon after this news.
In September 2006, a new director was chosen. His name is Haden Guest. He helped calm worries about the archive's public film screenings.
The Film Collection
The Harvard Film Archive has a huge collection of films. It covers the entire history of movie-making. This includes films from the silent film era up to today.
Types of Films in the Collection
The collection includes many kinds of movies. There are Hollywood films, documentaries, and animation. It also has short films and B-movies. You can find feature films from all over the world. This is the biggest collection of 35mm film in New England.
Rare and Special Films
The collection grows by about 15 to 20 films each year. It has some very rare movies. For example, it holds some of the only copies in the United States of films by Serbian director Dusan Makavejev.
The archive also has many German films. The Bavarian Film Fund donates copies of films it helps to pay for. After Karen Aqua passed away, the archive received over 300 of her works. These included both finished and unfinished films.
Saving Old Films
A key part of the Archive's work is to save and restore films. This means making sure old movies last a long time. They also make them look and sound their best.
Film Preservation Methods
The HFA prefers to preserve films from film to film. This helps keep the original quality and look. It also makes the films stable for many years. Sometimes, they also transfer films from film to digital files.
See also
In Spanish: Harvard Film Archive para niños
