This film is an account of the Talyllyn Railway, a historic narrow-gauge slate carrier in Tywyn, Wales, and its operation by a preservation society who saved it from being sold for scrap. Although the release date is 1965, it was actually filmed in the early 1950s. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.
Self
Self
Primary is a documentary film about the primary elections between John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey in 1960. Primary is the first documentary to use light equipment in order to follow their subjects in a more intimate filmmaking style. This unconventional way of filming created a new look for documentary films where the camera’s lens was right in the middle of what ever drama was occurring. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation in 1998.
City of Wax is a 1934 American short documentary film produced by Horace and Stacy Woodard about the life of a bee. It won the Oscar at the 7th Academy Awards in 1935 for Best Short Subject (Novelty). Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with the UCLA Film and Television Archive in 2007.
A documentary about the first flight over Mt Everest. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with UCLA Film & Television Archive in 2014.
Academy Award nominated short film. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division in 2012.
The people of Britain resist the German air force and navy with help from North America. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Library and Archives Canada in 2005.
Henry Browne, an African American farmer, and his family are profiled in this film. The important job of a farmer during times of war is highlighted, specifically his efforts growing peanuts and cotton. This role is made even more poingnant when they visit the eldest son who is a cadet in the 99th Pursuit Squadron.
Ronnie is a short exposé of a handsome young street hustler Curt McDowell met in San Francisco. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2015.
An overview of John F. Kennedy's political career. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive, in partnership with Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., in 2014.
Documentary depicting and explaining the Allied campaign against the Germans in North Africa. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with the UCLA Film & Television Archive in 2013.
Oscar winning postwar propaganda film in support of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. Strident but poignant, focusing on children. The film surveys the Nazi/Japanese atrocities, post-war devastation and the early relief efforts. This film was responsible for raising over $200,000,000, making it a top moneymaking film. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2005.
Brooklyn, U.S.A. is a 1947 English language short film directed by Arthur Cohen, starring Ted de Corsia. It was nominated for an Oscar in the category of Best Short Subject, One-Reel. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive.
United Nations, 1947 - In this film one crippled child learns to walk: first to move, then to stand, and finally to take his first steps. The film deals with modern techniques of physiotherapy, and the need to develop the whole child - his emotions and his mind as well as his muscles - is stressed. Skilled adult workers offer not only massage and therapy, but also love and understanding, and occupational therapy for children and takes the form of both play and work. Movements learned become part of the daily jobs of feeding and dressing. Early attempts to walk are made with the help of apparatus. Finally the initially hesitant steps on his own are taken. As the film ends the boy walks. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2005.
Hymn of the Nations, originally titled Arturo Toscanini: Hymn of the Nations, is a 1944 film directed by Alexander Hammid, which features the "Inno delle nazioni," a patriotic work for tenor soloist, chorus, and orchestra, composed by Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi in the early 1860s. (For this musical work, Verdi utilized the national anthems of several European nations.) In December 1943, Arturo Toscanini filmed a performance of this music for inclusion in an Office of War Information documentary about the role of Italian-Americans in aiding the Allies during World War II. Toscanini added a bridge passage to include arrangements of "The Star-Spangled Banner" for the United States and "The Internationale" for the Soviet Union and the Italian partisans. Joining Toscanini in the filmed performance in NBC Studio 8-H, were tenor Jan Peerce, the Westminster Choir, and the NBC Symphony Orchestra. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2010.
White Rhapsody is a 1945 short film directed by Jack Eaton, with Ted Husing narrating. The film explores the popular sport of skiing. It was nominated for an Oscar in the category Best Short Subject, One-Reel. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with UCLA Film & Television Archive in 2013.
Toward Independence is a 1948 American short documentary film about the rehabilitation of individuals with spinal cord injuries. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2005.
Operation Vittles is a 1948 American short documentary film about the Berlin Airlift, from the initial closure of the city in 1948 through 1949. It explains how, what, and why that supported the city. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with UCLA Film & Television Archive in 2013.
Kavery Kaul’s engaging documentary traces the history of calypso and soca music from their birth in the African-East Indian traditions of Trinidad and Tobago through its worldwide diaspora, including its popularization in the 1950s by Harry Belafonte and the new independent distribution networks that arose to serve the expatriate community in the 1980s. North American restoration premiere at To Save and Project: The 19th MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation on January 27 and 31, 2023. Digital restoration by the Academy Film Archive and the Women’s Film Preservation Fund of New York Women in Film & Television; courtesy of Riverfilms.
Documentarian Jon Boorstin follows architect Frank Gehry and his sister, Doreen Gehry Nelson, as they attempt a new method of teaching elementary school children in Los Angeles. With funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the siblings work together on a pilot program of “design-based learning” that would restructure the typical classroom curriculum, replacing rote math or civics lessons with an imaginary city designed and built entirely by the students themselves. Restored in 2018 by the Academy Film Archive.
A portrait of three Los Angeles area residents who create things with their hands. Angelo Austin decorates wedding cakes; Dean Jeffries designs, manufactures, and paints custom cars; and Pamela Weir-Quiton creates wooden dolls. Restored by the Academy Film Archive in 2016.