When we think of what film archives collect, we think of old films. After all, they are ‘Film’ archives, and for well over half a century this is what film and media archives have primarily preserved. However, in the twenty first century, the age of digital technology and the internet, archives collect far more than just film. They preserve history as it happens, in the form of cutting-edge digital media such as online video content, television, and virtual reality.

This session will provide insights from BFI National Archive Curators about contemporary film archive collecting; what they collect, why they collect it, and how. We will talk to the BFI’s Patrick Russell (Senior Curator of Non Fiction), Will Massa (Curator of Contemporary Fiction), Lisa Kerrigan (Senior Curator of Television), and Dylan Cave (Collections Development Manager), exploring the way in which collecting forms an essential part of the National Collection, the challenges posed by new and emerging media and technology, the hopes for future film and media archiving.

This event is presented and hosted by Curatorial Specialist (British Film Institute National Archive) and South West Silents Co-Director Rosie Taylor.

---