RF Annual Report - 1935 - The Rockefeller Foundation

276 THE ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION
The growing demand for a comprehensive
record of all types of film can best be met through
a central library of films supplemented by an
information service based on research in the
development of the art of motion pictures.
Though there now
exist, both nationally and
internationally, non-commercial organizations
interested in the art of film production, no central
organization is primarily interested in this aspect
of cinematography and none exists to further the
study of the film by making materials accessible
to student groups. The plan of the film library
of the Museum of Modern Art is to compile an
index to all films of interest or merit produced
since 1889, both American and foreign; to trace,
secure, and preserve the more important examples
from each period; to assemble films into programs
for exhibition by colleges, museums, and
community organizations; and to compose program
notes on each exhibition providing critical
appraisals as aid in appreciation of the medium.
These ends will be attained as rapidly as possible
by gathering critical materials, including unrecorded
data still in the minds of the men
who
developed thefilm,and by maintaining contacts
with interested individuals and groups in all
countries through regular publication of a bulletin.
Cooperation in maturing these plans has
© 2003 The Rockefeller Foundation