Your Archive needs YOU!
When was the last time you visited your attic? Or what about your beloved garden shed? When was the last time your garden getaway was given a proper clear out? Who knows what treasures, national treasures perhaps, are lurking, forgotten amongst the clutter? In Dawson City, USA, 500 reels of film were discovered in perma-frost, 49 years after being buried!Well, now may be the opportune time to put your Marigolds on and have a rummage. The National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales, at its new venue the Drwm, is hosting The National Library of Wales Annual Preservation Day, Celluloid Saturday, on Saturday the 18th of this month.
The day kicks off with a Film Amnesty, a chance for you, in antiques-road-show-style to bring in and discuss your own personal film treasures with Archive staff. Be they old films, cinema equipment or memorabilia, not only is this an opportunity for you to get some insight on your treasures but also a chance for Archive staff to meet enthusiasts and collectors, with a passion for film, from the Aberystwyth area.
Following the Film Amnesty, John Reed, NSSAW Film Preservation Officer, will present a Film Preservation Workshop, at 2.00pm, on the importance of preserving old films. John Reed is one of the UK's leading film preservationists and his presentation will provide a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most important aspects of the Archive's work - preserving and securing the film heritage and traditions of Wales for future generations to come.
The third component of the preservation day is a compendium of 3 explosive films brought together for a film show called This Film is Dangerous. The compendium, which includes the 1920s feature The Love Test, was screened during last year's London Film Festival. The programme begins at 3.00pm with the Archive's own Handle with Care - created as part of an NSSAW film education workshop, the film has recently been nominated for an award at The Chicago International Children's Film Festival.
The compendium is an insight into the dangerous nature of film preservation and of working with cellulose nitrate film. Some of you may remember the much loved foreign film Cinema Paradiso (1989) where Salvatore saves his childhood friend, the local cinema projectionist, Alfredo from the raging flames of a nitrate film fire; amply demonstrating the destructive nature of the material. Cellulose nitrate, commonly used in film based photographic material up until the 1950's, is an extremely dangerous material, due to its flammability. Its high fire risk increases with age. Not only does the material burn easily, uncontrollably with a hot intense flame and prone to explosions, but it also produces a very dense, poisonous smoke containing copious amounts of nitrogen dioxide fumes. As John Reed explains many archives are in "the unenviable position of storing mountains of nitrate films, just the thought of which turns the constitution of the most fearless safety officer to that of a quivering jelly".
Don't worry though - the Archive's own nitrate films are carefully looked after and safely stored! You're very unlikely to find explosive reels in your attics but any cine films or 8mm reels unearthed would be more than welcome...
For film enthusiasts to archive staff, the preservation day, Celluloid Saturday, will prove an enjoyable day for all.
Notes:
NLW Preservation Day Celluloid Saturday: Film Preservation
- Film Amnesty - 1pm (Free Admission)
- Film Preservation Workshop - 2 pm (Free Admission)
- This Film is Dangerous - 3 pm (Cost: £5)
- For tickets ring the NLW/Drwm box office: 01970 632548