BAMPFA Director of Film and Senior Film Curator Susan Oxtoby and Film Collection Supervisor Antonella Bonfanti will present Activating the Archive: A Look Inside BAMPFA’s Film Collection.

BAMPFA is home to one the world’s preeminent film and video collections. Including more than 18,000 works, it is recognized especially for holdings of American independent and experimental film and video; international animation; 35mm prints of Japanese, Soviet, and Eastern and Central European cinema; American and European classic feature films; documentaries; and historical Bay Area films. Preserving and providing access to these culturally important collections takes specialized expertise and significant resources. Activating the Archive is a rare behind-the-scenes peek at BAMPFA’s film collection. Director of Film and Senior Film Curator Susan Oxtoby and Film Collection Supervisor Antonella Bonfanti will guide us through the illustrious history of the archive and growth of the collection, discuss some of the major milestones and challenges, and lay out a vision for its future.

Antonella Bonfanti joined the BAMPFA staff in April 2020 as film collection supervisor. She oversees the film and video archival, acquisition and preservation projects. Antonella holds a master’s degree from the L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation and brings extensive experience working with film collections at institutions across the United States. Most recently, she served as director of the famed Bay Area experimental film distributor Canyon Cinema Foundation. 

Susan Oxtoby has led BAMPFA’s Film Exhibition Department since 2005, and was recently named director of film and senior film curator. She oversees the Film Library & Study Center and the museum’s film collection, and she leads BAMPFA’s work in the area of film exhibition, education, and collection development. Susan is a member of the Library of Congress’s National Film Preservation Board, has served on the FIAF (International Federation of Film Archives) Executive Committee, and has been awarded medals by the governments of France and the Democratic Republic of Georgia.

This is the latest installment of our biweekly online conversation series for Curator’s Circle members, a collection of online events that offer insights from and Q&A’s with our curators. Please join us online at 4 PM every other Thursday for these intimate conversations. 

This event is open to Curator’s Circle members at the $1,000 level and above. Space is limited, and reservations will be taken on a first come, first served basis. Registered participants will receive an email with a secure event link on September 1. 

Please contact Director of Special Events Masha Berek at mberek@berkeley.edu for more information or to register.