Every two years, cinephiles from Los Angeles and beyond gather to celebrate film and television history at the UCLA Festival of Preservation. The festival showcases work that has been newly restored by the second largest moving image archive in the United States after the Library of Congress—the UCLA Film & Television Archive.
The first UCLA Festival of Preservation was staged in 1988, as an effort to share the recent work of the Archive with the public. In 2009, the festival expanded by inaugurating its first North American tour, bringing these restored works to a larger audience across the country and beyond.
The UCLA Festival of Preservation strives to showcase content that spans across many genres and eras. There is something for everyone—from rare silents or the films of Laurel & Hardy to 1960s television specials, timely independent features, socially-conscious documentaries, and more.
It is estimated that 50 percent of all films produced in the U.S. prior to 1950 have disappeared. 90 percent of classic film prints in the U.S. are currently in very poor condition. Similarly, much of television history exists only on obsolete and deteriorating tape formats. That is where our preservationists come in.
Preservation is a labor of love. This costly, time-consuming process requires aesthetic judgment, historical research and precise technical skills. We locate the best surviving materials in the world and repair decades of wear and tear, producing new preservation elements and viewing copies.
With your support, the Archive can continue to restore moving images and bring these newly restored classics and long-neglected gems to the public through the UCLA Festival of Preservation. In just the past few years, the festival has been able to restore and share the following film restorations, among many others:
We are asking for you to support our preservationists and to join us in keeping the UCLA Festival of Preservation a successful avenue for the public to engage with the materials we restore.
UCLA Film & Television Archive is renowned for its pioneering efforts to rescue, preserve and showcase moving image media, and is dedicated to ensuring that the collective visual memory of our time is explored and enjoyed for generations to come.
A unique resource for media study, the Archive is one of the largest repositories of moving image materials in the world with more than 450,000 holdings. The collections include narrative and documentary features, avant-garde and LGBTQ media, television series, news and public affairs programs, and over 27 million feet of newsreel footage.
For gifts of any size, you will be listed in the print catalog of this celebrated film festival as a recognition of your generous support. You will also be listed in our donor honor roll on the UCLA Film & Television Archive website.
For $25, we will shout you out on our Facebook page! You will also be listed in the print catalog of this celebrated film festival as a recognition of your generous support.
For $50, you will receive a limited edition Archive-branded pen. We will also shout you out on our Facebook Page and you will be listed in the print catalog of this celebrated film festival as a recognition of your generous support (Tax deductible donation of $40).
For your donation of $125, you will receive one pass to the UCLA Film & Television Archive's Festival of Preservation, an Archive-branded pen, and a Facebook shout-out! You will also be listed in the print catalog of this celebrated film festival as a recognition of your generous support and on our website in our Donor Honor Roll. (tax deductible donation of $65).
For your donation of $500, you will receive two passes to the UCLA Film & Television Archive's Festival of Preservation, an Archive-branded pen, and a shout-out on our Facebook page! You will also be listed in the print catalog of this celebrated film festival as a recognition of your generous support, and on our website in our Donor Honor Roll. (tax deductible gift of $390).
For your donation of $1,000, you will receive an exclusive frame from a 35mm work print of the Laurel and Hardy film, BRATS. You will also receive two passes to the UCLA Film & Television Archive's Festival of Preservation, an archive-branded pen, and a shoutout on our Facebook Page! You will also be listed in the print catalog of this celebrated film festival as a recognition of your generous support, and on our website in our Donor Honor Roll. (tax deductible donation of $863).