San Francisco Cinematheque’s Archives document more than 64 years of artist-made cinema, exhibition history, publications, program notes, calendars, artist files, correspondence, and related moving image culture. A growing selection of materials is available through the Digital Archives, a separate searchable portal where visitors can browse collections and view digitized materials.
Page Contents:
Online Collections
Research Access
Books & Publications
Rights & Use
Donate Materials
Support the Archives
Archives Staff
Online Collections
San Francisco Cinematheque’s Digital Archives provide online access to selected materials from SFC’s archival collections. The Digital Archives are hosted on a separate Omeka site where visitors can browse collections, search records and view digitized materials.
Gunvor Nelson Artist File
Materials documenting the life and work of filmmaker Gunvor Nelson, one of the most influential figures in American avant-garde cinema.
View Collection
Bruce Baillie Artist File
Materials related to filmmaker Bruce Baillie, including documents connected to his life, career and impact on experimental film.
View Collection
San Francisco Cinematheque Program Calendars 1965–2013
Digitized program calendars documenting decades of SFC screenings, exhibitions and public programs.
View Collection
Avant to Live! Craig Baldwin/Other Cinema Digital Collection
Materials related to Craig Baldwin, Other Cinema and Bay Area underground and experimental moving image culture.
View Collection
San Francisco Cinematheque Program Notes 1984–2000
Digitized program notes documenting SFC screenings, artists, films and curatorial contexts from 1984 through 2000.
View Collection
Research Access
SFC’s Archives include physical and digital materials documenting the organization’s history and the broader field of non-commercial, artist-made cinema.
The physical Archives include paper materials, still images, publications, books, periodicals, program materials, correspondence and documentation related to SFC’s screenings, exhibitions, artists and organizational history.
Not all archival materials are available online. The Digital Archives represent a growing selection of digitized materials, while additional materials remain available only through research inquiry.
Research Inquiries: Researchers, curators, artists, students and community members may contact SFC with questions about archival materials, research access or specific collections. Please include as much detail as possible in your inquiry, including the topic, collection, artist, date range or material type you are researching. Contact: sfc@sfcinematheque.org
Books & Publications
San Francisco Cinematheque’s Archives include books, periodicals and publications related to artist-made cinema, experimental film, moving image culture and SFC’s history. These materials do not circulate. Research access may be arranged by request, depending on staff capacity and the condition or availability of the materials.
SFC’s collection of publications is cataloged separately on LibraryThing.
View LibraryThing Catalog
Rights & Use
Materials in San Francisco Cinematheque’s Archives and Digital Archives may be protected by copyright or other restrictions. SFC does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials represented in the Archives. Copyright may belong to artists, filmmakers, photographers, writers, publishers or other rights holders.
Permission to Use Materials: Please contact SFC before publishing, reproducing, screening, distributing or otherwise reusing archival materials.
When contacting us, please include:
the item or collection you are asking about;
how you would like to use the material;
where the material will appear or be published;
your deadline, if applicable.
SFC staff can help determine whether permission may be granted by Cinematheque or whether additional rights clearance may be required from another rights holder. Contact: sfc@sfcinematheque.org
Donate Materials
San Francisco Cinematheque selectively accepts archival materials that support research into non-commercial, artist-made cinema and related exhibition histories.
We are especially interested in materials connected to SFC’s history, Bay Area moving image culture, experimental film exhibition, artist-made cinema and related communities.
Materials of Interest
Materials may include:
personal papers and correspondence;
program notes, calendars, flyers and posters;
photographs and documentation of screenings or events;
publications, periodicals and ephemera;
organizational records from related film, video or arts organizations;
materials connected to artists, curators, venues or exhibition histories.
Before Donating Materials
Please contact us before sending or dropping off materials. SFC reviews potential donations based on relevance, condition, storage capacity, preservation needs and collecting priorities.
When contacting us, please include:
a brief description of the materials;
date range, if known;
approximate quantity;
condition;
your relationship to the materials;
photographs or an inventory, if available.
Support the Archives
SFC’s archival work depends on ongoing support. Developing, preserving and sharing the Archives requires staff time, digitization, description, storage, web hosting, preservation supplies and long-term care. Contributions help make archival materials more accessible to researchers, artists, students, curators and the public.
Your support helps sustain:
digitization of archival materials;
description and cataloging;
preservation and storage;
online access through the Digital Archives;
research support and public access.
Support the Archives Here
Thank you for helping preserve and share the history of San Francisco Cinematheque and the field of artist-made cinema.
Archives Staff
Cinematheque Director: Steve Polta
Cinematheque Archives Manager: India Nemer
Cinematheque Archives Interns: Sadie Cain, Courtney Fellion, Pricila Ramirez, Kristie Song and Jamie Wang
The archival projects of San Francisco Cinematheque have received support from the National Endowment for the Humanities (2022–2024) and California Revealed (2020–2026) as well as from individual donors.