An Introduction to the Interviews

This article explores the work that female archivists undertake today. It is based upon a series of six interviews—conducted largely in Europe in 2015—with noted female archivists, curators, and programmers. Through conversations with Bryony Dixon (British Film Institute), Giovanna Fossati (EYE Film Institute, Amsterdam), Karola Gramann (Kinothek Asta Nielsen, Frankfurt), Mariann Lewinsky (Il Cinema Ritrovato, Bologna), Elif Rongen-Kaynakçi (EYE Film Institute, Amsterdam), and Meg Labrum (National Film and Sound Archive, Canberra), it argues that women have a disproportionate impact upon the programming of silent film at festivals. It also suggests that there is a growing public that is attracted to festivals such as Il Cinema Ritrovato precisely because these festivals give us access to a vision of film history and feminism that we cannot find in traditional history books. Finally, it asks how these women work and, specifically, how the change to digital has impacted archival outreach and access today.