Preserving film history: A look at Film Is Fabulous

Are you aware of the vital work of the Film Is Fabulous initiative?

They’ve recently updated their Facebook page and website with a progress report, and it’s clear they’re undertaking a massive and crucial mission.

For those unfamiliar, Film Is Fabulous is dedicated to collecting, recording, and restoring film collections into digital formats. It’s a Herculean task, and the report highlights the sheer scale of what they’re dealing with.

The scope of the challenge

Since returning on January 13th, the team has been heavily involved in numerous projects, primarily focused on preserving private film collections. However, these collections often include other audio and visual formats, as well as film memorabilia, requiring significant time and effort.

It’s important to note that not every collection can be directly incorporated into the initiative. In many cases, Film Is Fabulous acts as an intermediary, facilitating donations to specialist auction houses, archives, or museums. This is particularly relevant for the delicate nitrate film prints they frequently encounter.

During their pilot scheme, they attempted to limit the number and type of films removed from collections to maintain a controlled process, with a focus on 16mm and 35mm prints. However, the urgency of estate clearances often takes precedence, making the preservation of vulnerable films the top priority. This has led to storage challenges.

They’ve encountered collections of over 5,000 film cans, and even one exceeding 10,000 films, which would require two years to catalogue with their current resources. These resources include funding for essential liability insurance, necessary for handling privately owned films.

It increasingly appears that Film Is Fabulous is not suited to the scale of demand. It will be interesting to see how this turns out, but the initial takeaway is that further film preservation projects are required.

Film Is Fabulous has clearly defined aims

• To support private film collectors and the UK’s film collecting community by providing advice, guidance, and practical assistance.
• To promote the cataloging of private film collections with requisite permissions and to fulfill the wishes of collectors and their estates.
• Identify and research missing, rare, and culturally important films and to collaborate with relevant agencies for their preservation.
• To champion the need for recovered films to be screened widely with affordable licensing agreements through copyright holders.
• To advance and encourage public interest, education, and training in film as a medium, especially its role within British culture.

Film Is Fabulous events

Occasionally, the organization holds screenings of recently recovered film and television. The next of these is RECOVERED, on Sunday, 11th May in Leicester. Full details and pricing are on the event page.

The Film is Fabulous! team, and film and television historians at De Montfort University in Leicester, are delighted to publish the programme for the vintage television festival, which will be held on Sunday, 11th May:

2.00pm

Saber of London: Four Against Three (Broadcast: 11th November 1959)

Starring: Donald Gray, Neil McCallum, Robert Raglan, and Stella Bonheur.

Duration: 26 minutes

Emergency Ward 10: The Long Small Hours (Broadcast: 29th September 1966)

Starring: John Carlisle, Ian Cullen, David Collings, and Ann Lynn.

Duration: 48 minutes

Intermission

The Third Man: Short Sequences (Broadcast: 1959 and 1965)

Starring: Michael Rennie, Jonathan Harris, Naomi Chance, and Rupert Davies.

Duration: 17 minutes

Moonstrike: He Who Tells (Broadcast: 4th July 1963)

Starring: Frank Maher, John Bown, James Bree, and Patricia Healey.

Duration: 46 minutes

Intermission

Discussion: Film is Fabulous!

Hosted by Tim Burrows, with Sue Malden, Justin Smith, and John Franklin.

Duration: 15 minutes

Boyd Q.C.: Short Sequences (Broadcast: June and July 1961)

Starring: Michael Denison, Leslie Dwyer, Virginia Maskell, and Charles Leno.

Duration: 16 minutes

ITV Playhouse: Each Wind That Blows (Broadcast: 15th April 1960)

Starring: Michael Gwynn, Margaret Tyzack, Ronald Leigh-Hunt, and Stratford Johns.

Duration: 46 minutes

The programme information is correct at the time of publication. However, the Film is Fabulous! team reserve the right to change the programme, without notice, should the need arise.

Among the findings at that screening is a recently announced discovery of a missing episode of Emergency Ward 10, starring John Carlisle, Ian Cullen, David Collings, Ann Lynn, and David Kelly.

Can you support Film Is Fabulous?

Film Is Fabulous is a small initiative facing a monumental task. They are doing incredible work with their limited resources, and they deserve immense credit. However, it’s clear that additional funding and resources are desperately needed to expand their capacity and accommodate the vast collections they encounter.

I strongly believe that those who allocate funding should recognize the importance of this work and provide the necessary support to ensure the preservation of our film heritage. Stay in touch with their work at filmisfabulous.org.uk.