Ongoing 16mm Enchantment at The New-York Public Library

An interview with Elena Rossi-Snook, the film archivist who takes care of the 16mm collection at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, a magical place where one can come, chose a film print he or she wants to watch and… see it projected! Elena Rossi-Snook has been a strong advocate of film inside and outside the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA) for many years, — enjoy her positiveness and exhilarating achievements.

Could you describe the 16mm print rental service that NYPL supports?

The first thing to note is the important distinction between renting and lending.  As a public library, we lend films.  Any member of the public may book a screening appointment in our private Film Study Room to watch any of the Reserve Film and Video Collection’s 6,000 16mm films.  For select films, qualified patrons experienced in film care and projection may borrow prints for home use.  These services are provided free of charge.  More information can be found here.

What is the scope of the NYPL 16mm print collection?

The answer to that question is a bit nuanced.  The public library believes that all texts, including A/V materials, should contribute toward literacy, critical-thinking and civic-mindedness.  So the 16mm collection has been built around that foundational principle: we have the largest public-access collection of American Avant-Garde in the world; political, social, and cultural documentaries; animation; short fictional works; filmic adaptations; and films created by and for children and young adults.  Now, does that mean we don’t have entertainment feature films?  Of course we do.  Does that mean we patrol how these films are enjoyed by the public?  Of course not.  The term we use for this type of collection is “educational film.”  There are no hard boundaries outlining exactly what constitutes an educational film, but if it inspires constructive thinking and discourse, it’s probably at the library.  Norman McLaren’s films are perfect examples (we still use A CHAIRY TALE (1957) in all manner of public programs, for all ages).

What is your favorite title? And the most popular one?

That’s like asking me to choose a favorite child!  At this moment, I am in love with Gordon Hitchens’ SUNDAY ON THE RIVER. It is a visually stunning, intimate portrait of Black joy, of ease during an uneasy time in American history (this film was made during the Civil Rights era, only two years before the human rights atrocities in Birmingham, Alabama).  As for popularity, it depends on Gen Z trends.  It’s true!  Droves of 20-somethings are coming to the public library to watch 16mm films.  They tend to come for the experimental stuff- Gregory Markopoulos and Barry Gerson are super popular right now- but then they’ll start curating screening appointments that might have an early David Lynch short film paired with THE LITTLE MERMAID.

Do you have an idea of the profile of the persons that come to rent these prints today?

Young actors and filmmakers.  Scholars and academics.  Cinephiles.  The cine-curious.  We have a film patron who checks out children’s films to show to his preschooler and their friends at home.  We had a teacher bring a group from a local high school to screen our 16mm print of THE GRADUATE.  That was exciting; there is nothing better in this world than standing at the back of a crowded screening room, the projector smoothly humming along while teenagers absolutely lose it over something on screen.

You say that this service is increasingly popular, what are the challenges to maintain it?

The machinery.  And having skilled technicians sensitive to the ins and outs of those machines (remember, we are now many years away from having everyday machines and machine sounds in our lives- even our cars have manufactured audio to replicate an engine’s sound.  How can one anticipate a major problem with the projector if you can’t hear the difference between a healthy and a distressed machine?).  We rely not only on SSL-O Slim Line Slotloads, Elmo 16-CL and Kodak Pageant projectors, but on the RTI inspection machines.  Because of the “death of film” rhetoric 15 years ago, we’re probably 5 years away from having a generation really experienced in projector use and care.  By this I mean that those who persisted in finding mentors and learning projection are now getting professional gigs or have their own classroom-model projectors at home but they have yet to learn the tricks of the “old timers.”  That’s my biggest anxiety: there is so much that is not in a projector manual that one needs to know in order to conserve the machine and its parts.  But, ultimately, it’s not rocket science.  If the biggest problem we have is sourcing new belts and training people to change fuses, I think we can handle that.

Most film archives would freak out at circulating prints in this way, what would be your message to them?

I rely heavily on the collection’s core identity: we are not a film archive that lends prints, we are a public library film collection that does archival work.  There are different distinctions for collection material in public institutions, right?  If you walk into a Special Collections reading room, you may be handed a film can and be told you can observe the item as an artefact.  Or you may be told you can access the content once it’s been digitized.  If I want to preserve the 16mm film collection as a projected resource for all, then I have to be comfortable with the possibility of print damage.  Also, let’s consider this: what are we saving this stuff for?  What is the actual timeline we’re working with?  Instead of thinking “I have to save this print so that it lasts forever”, I’ve started to think in terms of 25 years.  I don’t want to make decisions now which deprive those kids of that screening experience because there might not be another 16mm print of THE GRADUATE out there.  If it’s not for them now, who is it for, and when?

Many filmmakers still make 16mm prints of their work. Does the NYPL still acquire some?

Yes!  I especially look to acquire film art on 16mm.  But I’ve also been talking to one of our actor/patrons about acquiring the first feature film she starred in.  It was a digital production but she’s considering having a 16mm print made for the Reserve Film and Video Collection.  This is the future I dreamed of!

How do you foresee the future of photochemical film projection?

It’s going to be an amazing future as long as we invest in education- and, honestly, positive thinking- now.  We are in our You Can Do It era.  Elder machinists and technicians, I would love to see you make YouTube videos or welcome groups to your garage while you give a Master Class.  I would absolutely die (in the best possible way) if someone resuscitated Eiki SSL-O projector production.  All those wonderful 25-year-olds out there in the dark need to start drafting business plans.