March 13, 1997

Contact: Craig D'Ooge (202) 707-9189

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National Film Board Appointments Announced

Librarian of Congress James H. Billington has announced the names of 40 distinguished Americans who will serve as members and alternates on the National Film Preservation Board (NFPB). (See list below.)

Created by Congress in 1988, the NFPB was most recently authorized by Congress with passage of the National Film Preservation Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-285). The members of the board represent the full range of America's motion picture community and include industry representatives, film artists, archivists, educators, film critics and others.

Members of the National Film Preservation Board have two primary duties. First, they advise the Librarian of Congress on the annual selection of 25 "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" films for the National Film Registry. This process serves to highlight the breadth of America's film heritage and make the public aware of the need to preserve this invaluable legacy.

Second, the Board counsels the Librarian on the continuing implementation of the national film preservation plan, entitled Redefining Film Preservation, published jointly by the Board and Librarian in 1994. The plan followed release of a landmark 1993 LC/NFPB study: Film Preservation 1993. The plan aims to improve U.S. film preservation activities through helping reduce duplication of effort, fostering cooperation and coordinating activities between the film industry and motion picture archives, and devising ways to increase access to America's film heritage by its citizens (in full compliance with U.S. copyright law). Information on NFPB activities can be found by visiting its World Wide Web site at http://www.loc.gov/film/.

The National Film Preservation Act of 1996 also requires the Librarian of Congress to appoint nine persons to the Board of Directors of the newly created National Film Preservation Foundation, a federally chartered 501c(3) organization. Serving as a public-private partnership for film preservation, the Foundation will aggressively raise private funds, eventually match these with a limited amount of federal funds and provide grants to film archives, historical societies and similar nonprofit institutions throughout the United States. Dr. Billington will announce Foundation Board appointments in the near future.

NATIONAL FILM PRESERVATION BOARD

A. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Member: Fay Kanin
Alternate: Haskell Wexler

B. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers
Member: J. Nicholas Counter III
Alternate: Carol Lombardini

C. The American Film Institute
Member: John Ptak
Alternate: Jill Sackler

D. The American Society of Cinematographers and the International Photographers Guild
Member: Allen Daviau
Alternate: Robert Primes

E. Association of Moving Image Archivists
Member: Edward Richmond
Alternate: Karan Sheldon

F. Directors Guild of America
Member: Arthur Hiller
Alternate: Martin Scorsese

G. The Motion Picture Association of America
Member: Jack Valenti
Alternate: Cynthia Merifield

H. The National Association of Theater Owners
Member: Ted Pedas
Alternate: Mary Ann Grasso

I. National Society of Film Critics
Member: David Kehr
Alternate: Jay Carr

J. Department of Film and Television of the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University
Member: Robert Sklar
Alternate: Antonia Lant

K. The Screen Actors Guild of America
Member: Roddy McDowall
Alternate: Richard Masur

L. The Society for Cinema Studies
Member: Ed Guerrero
Alternate: Ana López

M. Society of Composers and Lyricists
Member: David Raksin
Alternate: Alan Bergman

N. The United States members of the International Federation of Film Archives
Member: Mary Lea Bandy, Museum of Modern Art
Alternate: Paolo Cherchi Usai, George Eastman House

O. The University Film and Video Association
Member: Ben Levin
Alternate: Betsy McLane

P. The Department of Theater, Film and Television of the College of Fine Arts, University of California, Los Angeles
Member: Bob Rosen
Alternate: Teshome Gabriel

Q. The Writers Guild of America
EAST
Member: Richard Wesley
WEST
Alternate: Del Reisman

R. At-Large
Member: Roger Mayer
Alternate: Edward James Olmos
At-Large
Member: Gregory Nava
Alternate: Leonard Maltin
At-Large
Member: Alfre Woodard
Alternate: Karen Ishizuka

Pro bono counsel: Eric Schwartz -- Proskauer Rose Goetz & Mendelsohn

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PR 97-41
3/13/97
ISSN 0731-3527