The Film Foundation has been instrumental in launching the National Film Preservation Foundation's initiative to save orphan films-films produced outside the commercial mainstreams. By stepping forward with a seed grant and by committing to providing ongoing support, The Film Foundation has also inspired others in the industry to support film preservation and to work toward preserving the widest spectrum of America's film heritage. The Film Foundation has changed the way people think about film preservation and is among the world's leading advocates for the cause. — Roger Mayer, Chairman of the Board of Directors, National Film Preservation Foundation, and President and COO, Turner Entertainment Company   About the NFPF The National Film Preservation Foundation (NFPF) is the nonprofit organization created by the U.S. Congress to save America's film heritage. Working with archives and others who appreciate film, the NFPF supports preservation activities nationwide that ensure the physical survival of film and improve access to film for study, education and exhibition. The NFPF started operations in November 1997, thanks to generous grants from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Film Foundation. Many in the entertainment community have pitched in to help get the NFPF up and running. The NFPF's priority is orphan films — films that do not have commercial owners able to pay the costs necessary for preservation. The types of films most at risk are newsreels, early silent films, educational shorts, avant-garde and experimental works, films no longer under copyright protection, home movies, and documentaries and features made outside the commercial mainstream. These films, made by professional and amateur filmmakers working in every corner of the United States, are the living record of the twentieth century. Scores of nonprofit and public film archives, museums, historical societies, universities, and libraries have taken responsibility for housing these "orphaned" moving images that document American culture and history. Many repositories need funding assistance to store these materials in cool-and-dry conditions, make preservation and access copies, and share them with the public. The NFPF's first Laboratory-Archive Partnership grants, awarded in October 1998, target these types of orphan films. Through this program, the NFPF distributes grants for preservation services contributed by commercial laboratories and post-production houses across the country. The 1998 awards went to twelve archives in nine states and the District of Columbia and will preserve films ranging from Groucho Marx's home movies to candid newsreel outtakes of Civil War veterans. In 1999, the NFPF plans to expand the grant program and announce several new initiatives. The NFPF depends entirely on private contributions to support national grant and outreach programs. Not until October 1999 will the NFPF be eligible to receive federal matching money for preservation projects in public and nonprofit archives across the country. The NFPF is a nonprofit public charity, incorporated in the District of Columbia and is affiliated with the National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress.