CTVA Students See Film History Come Alive
By Nia Sanders
Preservation – Restoration – Inspiration. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) Margaret Herrick Library in Beverly Hills and the AMPAS Film Archive at the Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study in Hollywood are each keeping film history alive and accessible by collecting and displaying film promotional materials for future generations, maintaining original scripts and production notes from history’s most famed filmmakers, and dedicating hours to reviving old film reels.
Photo by Dr. Debarati Byabartta
On April 23, Department of Cinema and Television Arts (CTVA) professor Dr. Debarati Byabartta hosted 17 students from her Media Theory and Criticism and Latin American Cinema courses on an inaugural field trip to both institutions.
“I enjoyed every moment of the trip and was honored to be among the first to be on an academic field trip for the California State University Northridge film program,” says student Minol Sugathadasa.
Photo by Anthony de Anda
Beginning in the Margaret Herrick Library, students had the opportunity to browse through “Production Bibles” for a diverse array of projects including Studio Ghibli’s Howl’s Moving Castle and Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. Also on display were preserved ephemera like bumper stickers, McDonald’s Happy Meal boxes, cereal boxes, and more. Anything used to promote iconic films is actively collected to preserve and contextualize their history.
Photo by Dr. Debarati Byabartta
The challenging nature of film preservation was the primary focus at the second stop of the day, the AMPAS Film Archive. Students experienced live demonstrations of film strip restoration and early editing techniques, along with a tour of the archive’s vaults, which house in a constant 50-degree environment over 250,000 items including every Academy Award–winning film in the Best Picture category. “I was particularly struck by the atmosphere. It felt more like a research institution or museum than a typical library,” says student Alexa Cueva. “Film is a mirror of the time and place in which it was created, and institutions like the Margaret Herrick Library and the AMPAS Film Archive play a vital role in safeguarding that reflection. I left the experience feeling inspired, informed, and more connected to the larger purpose of film studies.”
Photo by Dr. Debarati Byabartta
Many students reported that they left the trip with a renewed passion for the film industry, including a newfound interest in archival work as a potential career path. Every student went home with a gift from the Film Archive as a memento: a piece of film reel from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Dr. Byabartta notes that the experience would not have been possible without Tuni Chatterjee, Manager of Film Education at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, who connected her with the Academy library and archive staff. She says that leaders at each institution were so generous with their time and resources, namely Elizabeth Youle, Director of Reference and Public Services at the AMPAS Margaret Herrick Library; Taylor Morales, Associate Director of Film Preservation and Public Access at the AMPAS Film Archive; and James Cirenza, a specialist in film archive administration at the AMPAS Film Archive. Having made these priceless connections, Dr. Byabartta hopes to bring students on similar educational journeys in years to come.
Dr. Byabartta (center) stands with Academy Library staff before Douglas Fairbanks’s posthumous Oscar