Another week has gone by and we are that much closer to wrapping up the project of inventorying the films at filmmakers. As I watch the piles of films slowly dwindle I find myself wondering how many other people have touched these films over the years. Most of the cans show the name of the last person to check out the film to show to a class or another group of other people. I am sure that none of these individuals worried that one day these films might be lost or discarded, lost in the black hole of time and degradation. Then I wonder, will my hands be the last to touch these films, will my notes on their condition be the last ever made.
Title after title and I write, I write and I write. Damaged, warped, spliced, vinegar syndrome, scratched, fading, faded...and on and on. I can't help but feel like I am writing a eulogy or even engraving the headstones of these dead and dying films.
Is there a chance of resurrection? Is there a savior out there, somewhere; someone who will care for these films? I'm not sure. What I am sure of is that a few weeks from now I will see these reels for what is more than likely the last time ever, and they will slowly fade from my mind. All of the titles I have scribed will slip from my thoughts. And every once in a while I will find myself wondering, whatever happened to all of those films?
This blog will follow my eight week internship at Pittsburgh Filmmakers. This internship is done in association with my Moving Image Archives class at the University of Pittsburgh, taught by Janet Ceja.
