"There's a moment of truth when you face an audience that you've programmed for, you try to see if you've made the connection. It's the best moment and sometimes the worst moment. If you fail, it's very awful, and if you've connected, it's wonderful. That's what it is all about. It makes it worthwhile."-Edith Kramer, PFA director and senior curator of film, as quoted by Mary Pols in the Contra Costa Times, June 30, 2003

BAM/PFA is proud to announce that UC Berkeley has awarded Edith Kramer The Chancellor's Distinguished Service Award for outstanding performance and for notable service.

The award recognizes Edith's unflagging dedication to the presentation and preservation of the art of film, and her role in building the Pacific Film Archive into one of the most respected institutions of its kind in the United States, bringing international attention to the University's cultural mission.

Edith came on board at PFA in 1975 and was named director and film curator in 1983. Since then, many generations of UC students and a wide Bay Area community have come to appreciate her intelligence, depth, and wit as a programmer and presenter. One student described PFA as a place "where the word popcorn is never spoken, and lives are sometimes turned around." Edith is also admired, locally and globally, for her efforts to safeguard our film heritage by collecting and preserving cinema, and as a tireless champion of living artists working far from the financial support of film studios.

"Edith Kramer is richly deserving of this special recognition," said Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl. The Distinguished Service Award will be presented to Edith in a ceremony at the museum on August 19.