The Marriott Library Special Collections Center held a two-day conference to inform the U community this week of its historic film preservation efforts.
Special Collections hosted The Independent Film Archives show, “Timecode,” on Tuesday and Wednesday because it said future generations should see the work done by important filmmakers from the past, according to Jimi Jones, a film/AV archivist for Special Collections.
“We don’t want filmmakers’ rare work to sit and deteriorate because an independent film is usually only made once…if it deteriorates, it is lost forever,” Jones said.
Sue Jensen Weeks, one of the U’s first film students, showed two of her projects. She said the show was a “very good idea” because it gave people the chance to know how far the film industry has come.
“Why, back in 1974, there was very little equipment to work with. We had to be creative.
For example, we used more music in our editing, and we worked with the music department to work the music into our films,” Weeks said.
Special Collections will allow anyone to preserve their work at the U, according to Jones.
Archived films can be viewed in the Reading Room on the fifth floor of the Marriott Library.