Preservation Initiatives
likeThe San Francisco Silent Film Festival is proud to serve a role in the preservation of our cinematic heritage by presenting restorations and preservation prints from archives around the world. Festivals like ours participate in the preservation cycle by bringing appreciative audiences to bear witness to the extraordinary breadth and depth of silent-era filmmaking.
Since 2003, SFSFF has given the San Francisco Silent Film Festival Award to organizations and individuals to honor their contributions to the preservation and restoration of silent-era movies. Award recipients are listed below.
From 2008–2013, SFSFF awarded fellowships to students working in silent film preservation. Fellows are listed below. Since 2014, we've awarded AMIA conference travel grants to up-and-coming archivists.
In the last few years, SFSFF has had a direct hand in the restoration of several titles. Through our preservation fund, in partnership with organizations such as BFI, MoMA, Cinémathèque Française, EYE Filmmuseum, Library of Congress, and the Film Preservation Society, we have restored and preserved The Last Edition, The Half-Breed, The Good Bad Man, When the Earth Trembled, and Sherlock Holmes. We are gratified to have brought these titles back to life, and are committed to showcasing important restorations and preservations for years to come.
In November 2015, SFSFF was granted associate membership in the Fédération Internationale des Archives du Film (FIAF), which has been dedicated to the preservation of, and access to, the world's film heritage since 1938.
SFSFF is in the process of restoring four additional titles in collaboration with BFI, Cinémathèque Française, Gosfilmofond, and Library of Congress, which will all have their US premieres at SFSFF 2016!
THE SILENT FILM FESTIVAL AWARD
2015Serge Bromberg of Lobster Films
2014
BFI (British Film Institute)
2013
Cinémathèque Française
2012
Telluride Film Festival
2011
UCLA Film and Television Archive
2010
Kevin Brownlow and Patrick Stanbury of Photoplay Productions
2009
China Film Archive
2008
David Shepard of Film Preservation Associates
2007
Turner Classic Movies
2006*
Library of Congress and Melissa Chittick
2005*
National Film Preservation Foundation
2004*
George Eastman House
2003*
La Fédération Internationale des Archives du Film (FIAF)
* From 2003 - 2006, the award was sponsored by Haghefilm.
SILENT FILM FESTIVAL PRESERVATION FELLOWS
2013Simon Milne, The Last Edition restoration team
2012
Scott Williams
2011
Sean Kilcoyne
2010
Ken Fox, Mr. Fix-It
2009
Kyle Westphal, McCall's Fashion News
2008
Anne Smatla, Screen Snapshots (7th Series)
