Film: the living record of our memory : a documentary about the importance of moving images
(DVD)

Extras: deleted scenes.

Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Jonas Mekas, Patricio Guzmán, Ken Loach.

Why preserve film in a world where audiovisual materials seem so readily available online? That is the key question posed in Film, the Living Record of Our Memory, which features interviews with film archivists, curators, technicians, and filmmakers including Costa-Gavras, Jonas Mekas, Patricio Guzm̀n, Ken Loach, Bill Morrison, Fernando Trueba, Wim Wenders, and appearances by Martin Scorsese, Barbara Rubin, Idrissa Oǔdraogo, Ridley Scott, and Ousmane Sembene. Together, they explore what film preservation is and why it is still so important to preserve celluloid, even in an increasingly digital world. Thanks to the tireless work of these film professionals, many of whom work unrecognized behind the scenes, we are still able to watch films that are more than 125 years old. The film pays tribute to their conviction that film holds our collective memory, and that access to film as it was meant to be seen may one day change a life. Film, the Living Record of Our Memory highlights the unique challenges of maintaining film, the cultural and political barriers to the preservation, and the surprising risks of digital preservation. The work is critical because, as the film explains, so much of this heritage has already been lost forever?

DVD, widescreen (1.85:1, 16x9); 5.1 surround, 2.0 stereo; region 1, NTSC.

English, Arabic, Catalan, French, Japanese or Spanish dialogue; English subtitles.