April 25, 1997
Contact:
Eric Schwartz, Film Preservation Foundation (202) 416-6817
Steve Leggett, Library of Congress (202) 707-5912
Librarian of Congress Makes New Appointments to Film Preservation Foundation
Librarian of Congress James H. Billington today
announced appointment of nine Directors to serve on the
Board of the newly established National Film Preservation
Foundation (NFPF).
Congress created the Foundation late last year with
passage of the National Film Preservation Act of 1996
(Public Law 104-285). The establishment of the Foundation
is one of the most important developments in the film
preservation field in the past several decades. The NFPF is
the first federally chartered foundation dedicated to the
preservation of America's film heritage and marks the
culmination of a public-private planning effort begun in
1993 by film-community leaders, educators and archivists,
under the leadership of the Librarian of Congress and the
National Film Preservation Board. The Foundation's main
goal is to raise money for archives nationwide to preserve
America's film heritage. No such organization now exists.
"The Foundation Directors announced today will have
the important task of launching the Foundation and its
fund-raising efforts," said Dr. Billington. "Given
congressional support for this Foundation during financially
difficult times, these few positions are very prestigious
appointments. The nine individuals I have chosen have a
challenging and complex national film preservation problem
to tackle, and I look forward to working with each of them
in our efforts to address these problems."
The nine Foundation Directors appointed today are:
- Celeste Bartos, Chair, Museum of Modern Art
Trustee Committee on Film and Video
- John Cooke, Executive Vice President, Corporate
Affairs, The Walt Disney Company
- Laurence Fishburne, Actor /Producer
- Ann Dibble Jordan, Consultant, Member/Director
of Various Corporate Boards
- Roger Mayer, President and Chief Operating
Officer, Turner Entertainment Co.
- David W. Packard, Stanford Theater Foundation
- John Ptak, Creative Artists Agency
- Martin Scorsese, Filmmaker and President of
The Film Foundation "Filmmakers for Film
Preservation"
- Alan K. Simpson, former U.S. Senator (R-Wyo.)
The Foundation is an independent, private sector 501c
(3) (not-for-profit) organization. It will raise money and
give grants for the benefit of film preservation activities
of U.S. nonprofit institutions with film collections,
ranging from large archives to small regional or historical
archives. The focus of the Foundation's efforts will be on
so-called "orphan" films, such as documentaries, silent
films, independent films, newsreels, films by or documenting
minorities, films of regional interest -- films of enormous
educational and cultural significance but possessing limited
commercial value.
To fulfill its mission, the Foundation will raise
private funds and forge innovative public-private
partnerships involving motion picture studios, film artists,
archives and others. It will be a lean, mission-driven
organization, keeping administrative/fund-raising costs to
minimal levels (i.e., a goal of approximately 5 percent once
the Foundation is fully established). By law, no federal
funds may be used for administrative or operating costs; all
such expenses will have to be funded through contributions
from private corporations, foundations and individuals.
Private funds may eventually be matched with limited
federal funds and distributed via grants to nonprofit film
archives, state historical societies and other institutions
with film collections throughout the United States. Grants
will focus not on films controlled by the major film
studios, but rather on the films of significant research,
historical or documentary value. In addition to direct
preservation work, grants may aid related, important
activities such as improving storage facilities, cataloging
of films, repatriation of American films from foreign
archives and helping make films more accessible to the
American public, in ways fully compatible with U.S.
copyright law.
Dr. Billington added, "Film preservation presents one
of the most vexing cultural crises we face today, given the
high cost of preserving or restoring a single film title,
which can range from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands
of dollars. To begin to solve all aspects of the film
preservation crisis would require millions of dollars.
I again express my appreciation to Congress and the
administration for creating this Foundation. Now it is up
to all in the film community to pitch in together and make
the Foundation work."
The National Film Preservation Board will continue
to advise the Librarian on the annual selection of films to
the National Film Registry and national film preservation
policy, in addition to assisting the Foundation with
important studies and coordination of information on film
preservation matters.
Also today, Dr. Billington announced the appointment
of Eric Schwartz, a copyright attorney with the firm of
Proskauer Rose Goetz & Mendelsohn LLP, as interim Executive
Director for the Foundation. Mr. Schwartz will continue to
serve as pro bono counsel to the National Film Preservation
Board, a position he has held since its inception in 1988.
Up-to-date information on Foundation activities
(including how to make donations) can be obtained from
Mr. Schwartz at (202) 416-6817 or Steve Leggett at
(202) 707-5912, and from the Foundation's World Wide Web
home page at http://www.loc.gov/film/nfpf.html.
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PR 97-88
4/25/97
ISSN 0731-3527