As we move towards the close of the twentieth century, the central role played by moving pictures in our lives is virtually taken for granted. They entertain, inform, record our lives - and challenge our preconceptions. The insights and pleasures afforded by moving pictures carry a responsibility that is the fundamental principle of the profession in which we work - ensuring their long-term survival so that future generations can appreciate this treasure. Yet we know that only a small proportion of the millions of feet of film produced during the past 100 years has survived neglect, destruction, chemical or accidental damage, and chemical deterioration. The nature and scale of the preservation problem presented by any country’s filmed heritage demands a solution that must involve collaboration at national, regional and local levels.
The Public Film Archive Scene in Great Britain
Up to the mid 1970s, two public bodies were charged with the preservation of the nation’s moving images - the National Film and Television Archive and the Imperial War Museum. The collections established by these organisations include feature and documentary films and also television programmes, produced both in this country and internationally. That these bodies recognised the impossibility of addressing the preservation problem single-handedly is evidenced by their support for new public collections across the country - the regional film archives.
During the years 1976 and 1977 three film ‘search and rescue’ projects were established in Norwich, Glasgow and Manchester. All three shared a common belief - that films illustrating and illuminating life in their regions were important cultural and historical records which demanded immediate local intervention to endure their survival. From these beginnings grew the three public archives that became the vanguard of the British regional film archive movement - the East Anglian Film Archive, the Scottish Film Archive and the North West Film Archive (NWFA). The serious preservation commitment of these newcomers convinced the national archives that it was possible to work collaboratively - and not competitively - and that more professional players in the field meant that more important material could be found, acquired, preserved, documented, stored and made available to the public.
While the national and regional archives mentioned above have always worked in close co-operation, a mechanism to develop professional interests (e.g. training, nitrate film copying and acquisition policies) and to encourage the establishment of new moving image archives was introduced in 1987 - the Film Archives Forum. This is chaired and hosted by the British Universities Film and Video Council which has been a true advocate of our cause. The quarterly meetings transact a wide range of business and (most importantly) bring together the curators of each archive to develop networking and support systems - a mini FIAF in effect! In the case of the NWFA, I wholeheartedly believe that its consolidation and progress could not have been so assured without the practical and moral support of fellow Forum members (e.g. the Deputy Curator of the National Film and Television Archive is a member of the NWFA Board of Trustees; the Film Keeper of the Imperial War Museum inspired me to apply for FIAF membership; and the Curator of the Scottish Film Archive has provided assistance on occasions too numerous to list).
It is heartening to note that membership of the Forum group of preservation archives has expanded in recent years through the development of the Wessex Film and Sound Archive (based in Hampshire) and the Wales Film and Television Archive. The Yorkshire Film Archive and the TSW Film and Television Archive for the South West are strong candidates for affiliation. It is also hoped that initiatives currently under consideration in the South East, the North East and the Midlands will produce new collections. Why is it so desirable that Great Britain should be covered by a complete network of public regional film archives? The obvious answer is that, if there is to be any chance of rescuing the moving images that still survive, the critical stage has now been reached.
There are significant advantages to operating at a regional level. Such archives are ideally placed to systematically search out material at risk, working in partnership with colleagues in local libraries, record offices, museums and galleries. A specialist regional agency is able to cost-effectively establish the expertise and facilities required for moving image preservation and access in a way that would be impracticable if fragmented amongst the hard-pressed mainstream public archives and record offices. While the difficulties of attracting funding in the current economic climate are not to be underestimated, specialist bodies can be successful in attracting financing from a range of revenue and one-off founders (e.g. strategic regional significance is a criterion of National Lottery funding). In developing a collection, prospective donors are often won over the argument that material will remain in their own region and will be made available for the benefit of the local community.
A specialist archive is also able to operate pro-actively, improving the comprehensiveness of its holdings through dedicated retrieval programmes. The regional focus of these archives also presents the opportunity to establish complementary collections of photographs, documentation, ephemera and taped interviews which provide a historical perspective and informed context for the study of the moving image. The existing archives already assist each other by re-directing material that is outside their acquisition remit to more appropriate collections. Regional archives also regularly offer key titles to the national collections as such material essentially contributes to the national picture.
Putting the theory into practice
The work and collections of the North West Film Archive serve to illustrate how the aspiration of establishing a public film archive, based in and serving a particular region, is translated into practice. Housed at the Manchester Metropolitan University, the NWFA receives revenue funding from the regional arts board (North West Arts Board), three local authorities (Association of Greater Manchester Authorities; Lancashire Country Council; and Cheshire County Council) and the region’s media industry (Granada Television and BBC North). As demands on the Archive have increased significantly in recent years, it has been necessary to meet the short-fall between revenue funding and core costs through income generation. Major preservation and access programmes have been supported by the attraction of one-off funding (recent successes include the Central Manchester Development Corporation, the Foundation for Sport and the Arts, the Manchester Ship Canal Company and the National Heritage Memorial Fund). The Archive currently employs a team of eight specialist staff, making it the country’s largest regional film archive currently in operation. The most persuasive arguments on the need for, and viability of regional film archives are the collections that have been established and their usage.
The NWFA collection of over 19,000 items dates from pioneer films of the mid 1890s to contemporary television programmes. All material relates to life in the areas of Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire and Merseyside. Cinema newsreels, advertising and promotional material; home movies; documentaries; educational and travel films; and private, corporate and municipal video productions are all acquired. Themes strongly illustrated include work; transport; sport and leisure, entertainment; celebrations; healthcare; housing; and wartime experiences in the region. The collection is a striking social, historical and cultural record of urban, industrialised society during the past one hundred years. Many films show regional traditions and customs (e.g. Whit Walks; Wakes Week holiday; Preston Guild celebrations). The collection also testifies to the significance of the North West in national and international terms (e.g. we hold the most comprehensive coverage on the textile industry) and to the regional impact of national events (e.g. the Coronation and the Festival of Britain celebrations; home front activities during the wars).
The main target audience for the collection is the people of the North West. The Archive provides a free access service to the public and material is also regularly screened in public festivals and at exhibitions in the region’s libraries, museums, and galleries. In addition to responding to enquiries, a policy of developing dedicated resources for special needs has been implemented. This is best exemplified by the schools video resource series, relating to the National Curriculum (currently in production with funding from the Foundation for Sport and the Arts). The NWFA is planning to create another resource for use in reminiscence stimulation therapy work. NWFA activities to celebrate the Centenary of Cinema in 1996 will include a major exhibition (at the National Museum of Labour History) and a touring programme of public film shows, with supporting exhibitions.
Alongside its public access work, the Archive also offers a special commercial service to meet the needs of television programme makers. Major networked documentary series which have used NWFA material include the BBC’s All Our Working Lives (twentieth century work); Out of the Doll’s House (women’s history); Now the War Is Over (post-war Britain); Through the Looking Glass (history of fashion) and The People’s Century (forthcoming). Independent television broadcasts which have featured footage include Forbidden Britain (social taboos); Out of Sight (issues surrounding disability) and Century of Childhood.
Into the next century
As we move into the twenty-first century there are two developments that I would wish to see. The first would be that in every region of Britain a sister archive existed so that the current network of regional film archives could be finally joined up. This would enable the regional tier to function as a strong strategic link between the national archives and constituencies nationwide. My second wish would be that the existing regional film archives were properly resourced so that the full potential of their collections could be released and they could make an even greater contribution to film preservation and access across the country.
Le rôle et l’importance des images en mouvement pour nos sociétés semble être généralement admis. Il est également connu que seul un pourcentage réduit des millions de mètres d’images produits en 100 ans a été conservé. L’étendue et la nature du problème appelle la collaboration aux niveaux national, régional et local.
En Grande-Bretagne, jusque dans les années 70, deux institutions étaient principalement chargées de préserver les images en mouvement au niveau de tout le pays: le National Film Archive (devenu entre temps le National Film and Television Archive) et l’Imperial War Museum. Ces organismes ont reconnu l’impossibilité de subvenir aux besoins de conservation par eux tout seuls et ont soutenu la création de nouvelles collections publiques dans le pays. Ainsi se sont constitué les archives régionales.
En 1976 et 1977, trois projets de ‘recherche et sauvetage’ on été lancés à Norwich, Glasgow et Manchester. Les trois étaient fondés sur la même conviction que les films illustrant la vie des régions constituaient d’importants témoignages de la vie culturelle et historique requérant une intervention locale immédiate en vue de leur survie. De ces actions naquirent les archives publiques qui constituèrent, selon l’auteur, l’avant-garde du mouvement britannique des archives régionales: l’East Anglian Film Archive, la Scottish Film Archive et la North Western Film Archive (NWFA). L’engagement exemplaire de ces nouvelles archives parvint à convaincre les deux Archives nationales que non seulement il était possible de travailler en collaboration mais que le partage des efforts entre plusieurs groupes de professionnels signifiait qu’un plus grand nombre de films pouvait être trouvé, acquis, préservé, documenté, conservé et mis à la disposition du public.
Dans la pratique, la collaboration technique entre archives régionale s’effectue par une sorte de groupement corporatif: le Film Archives Forum. Les avantages d’une telle collaboration sont évidentes: ces archives sont bien placées pour rechercher systématiquement le matériel à risque, pour travailler en étroite collaboration avec les collègues de bibliothèques, archives, galeries et musées locaux.
La NWFA est basée dans la Manchester Metropolitan University, financée par le North West Arts Board, les autorités locales et l’industrie locale des media. Avec un effectif de huit professionnels, elle est la plus importante archive régionale. L’argument principal pour l’obtention de soutiens publics et privés demeure la collection et son accessibilité. Les quelque 19000 éléments qui la composent (actualités, films publicitaires et de promotion, films d’amateur et de famille, documentaires, films de voyages et d’éducation, productions vidéo d’entreprises, municipales et privées, etc.) font l’objet de la demande des utilisateurs.
L’utilisateur principal des collections est le public du nord-ouest lui-même. Parallèlement à l’accès public, l’archive offre un service commercial spécial aux producteurs de programmes de télévision.
Pour le second siècle du cinéma, l’auteur formule deux souhaits: la création d’une institution soeur dans chaque région de Grande-Bretagne et la mise à la disposition des archives régionales de fonds publics suffisants à la préservation optimale des collections et de leur accessibilité.
Los Archivos de cine regionales en Gran Bretaña
El rol y la importancia que tienen las imágenes en movimiento en nuestras sociedades parecen ser unánimemente reconocidos, constata el autor. Tampoco se ignora que sólo un pequeño porcentaje de los millones de metros producidos en 100 años han sido conservados. La magnitud y naturaleza del fenómeno exige la colaboración a nivel nacional, regional y local.
En Gran Bretaña, hasta los años 70, dos instituciones tenían por misión la salvaguarda del patrimonio de imágenes en movimiento a nivel de todo el país: el National Film Archive (hoy National Film and Television Archive) y el Imperial War Museum. Estos organismos han llamado la atención sobre el hecho de que no podían, ellos sólos, responder a todas las necesidades en materia de preservación y han propiciado la creación de nuevas colecciones públicas. Así nacieron los archivos regionales.
En 1976 y 1977 se llevaron a cabo tres proyectos de "Búsqueda y rescate" en Norwich, Glasgow y Manchester.
De estas acciones, recalca el autor, nació la vanguardia del movimiento británico de archivos regionales: el East Anglian Film Archive, el Scottish Film Archive y el North Western Film Archive. La importante labor llevada a cabo por éstos hizo progresar la idea de que el desdoblamiento de los esfuerzos a nivel regional significaba que se podía rescatar, adquirir, preservar, documentar, conservar y exhibir un mayor número de films pertenecientes al acervo regional y nacional.
En la práctica, la cooperación se efectúa a través de un agrupamiento profesional (el "Film Archives Forum").
Las ventajas de esta colaboración resulta evidente: este tipo de archivos está bien ubicado para indagar sistemáticamente sobre el paradero de material en peligro y colaborar con sus colegas de bibliotecas, archivos y museos locales...
Para el segundo Siglo del cine, el autor formula dos deseos: que se proceda a la creación de una institución hermana en cada una de las regiones de Gran Bretaña y que se disponga de los recursos financieros suficientes para el rescate, preservación y exhibición de las colecciones.