Charlie Shackleton describes “The Afterlight” as “a film that’s designed to be lost.” It deliberately exists as a single 35mm print that will naturally degrade over time and with every showing. But recently, the film was lost in a different way than intended. Documentary spoke with Shackleton about the logistics of the accidental loss of the film and its subsequent recovery.
Documentary Preservation
Documentary films capture vital moments of history and culture that are at great risk of being lost if we don’t pay greater attention to their preservation. Every filmmaker must be an archivist for their own work. In March and April of 2015, the IDA partnered with DOC NYC to present the Documentary Preservation Summit, a two-day gathering of filmmakers, preservation experts and others to address the risks of losing access to important documentary films and strategies for ensuring their future.
Below, we have compiled a list of resources that will be beneficial to anyone interested in preserving their work, and ensuring important documentary work everywhere is adequately preserved and archived.
Why Focus on Docs for Preservation? (via DOC NYC)
In preparation for the Documentary Preservation Summit, a journalist asked DOC NYC's Thom Powers if fiction films and documentaries share the same issues when it comes to preservation.
Pennebaker & Hegedus Top 10 for #savedocs (via DOC NYC)
D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, recipients of the DOC NYC Lifetime Achievement Award, maintain their own archives containing over 50 years worth of priceless documentary films and outtakes.
Case Study on #savedocs: Eyes on the Prize (via DOC NYC)
One of the cautionary tales about documentary films falling out of public circulation is Henry Hampton’s Eyes on the Prize.
Archival and preservation issues took center stage at DOC NYC on Tuesday, as IDA and the Association of Commercial Stock Image Licensors (ACSIL) co
IDA is thrilled to be co-presenting "Archival & Survival," a daylong series of panel discussions at DOC NYC on Nov 17th that spotlights a number of
Back in 2001, filmmaker Allison Berg thought she was prepared. She was in the process of editing her first documentary film, Witches in Exile, when a
This year’s recipient of IDA’s Preservation and Scholarship Award is Cambodian director Rithy Panh, 60, whose most recent autobiographical film, The
"The American television and video heritage is now at a crossroads. One direction leads toward catastrophic losses of film and videotape...Another
" Motion pictures are the Rosetta Stone of our times. They are how future generations will know who we were, what we did and how we felt about our
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Academy Film Archive The International Documentary Association is recognizing the extraordinary
Cinematographer Guillermo Navarro, ASC, once deemed today's films, "the Rosetta Stone of our times. They are how future generations will know who we
'These Amazing Shadows' premieres December 29 on PBS' 'Independent Lens.'