Author Archives: Jan-Christopher Horak

Archival Spaces 287: Soundies and the Changing Image of Black Americans Uploaded 21 January 2022 Several years ago in a piece on “Preserving Race Films” (2016, edited by Barbara Tepa Lupack) I noted that much African-American film history from the 1930s and 40s had only survived in 16mm copies, which were often treated by archivesContinue reading “287: Susan Delson on Soundies”

Archival Spaces 286 The Village Detective: A Song Cycle (2021) Uploaded 7 January 2022 A couple of years ago I contributed to an anthology on the filmmaker Bill Morrison, The Films of Bill Morrison (2017), edited by Bernd Herzogenrath, and I have been a big fan of Bill’s since he first showedDecasia (2002), his feature-lengthContinue reading “286: The Village Detective (2021)”

Archival Spaces 285 Vienna in Hollywood Symposium Uploaded 24 December 2021 Two weeks ago I attended and was a speaker at the Symposium, “Vienna in Hollywood. The Influence and Impact of Austrians on the Hollywood Film Industry 1920s – 2020s.” The event was hosted by the new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, USC Libraries, USC’sContinue reading “285: Vienna in Hollywood Symposium”

Archival Spaces 284 George Höllering’s Hortobágy (1937) Uploaded 10 December 2021 George Höllering’s Hortobágy (1937) is one of those films I have been chasing after for decades and was finally able to see the film at the German Kinemathek’s recent “Film Restored: The Film Heritage Festival,” in a wet-gate transferred digital copy, restored this yearContinue reading “284: Georg Höllering’s Hortobágy (1937)”

Archival Spaces 283 Lisa Gotto: Passing and Posing Between Black and White Uploaded 26 November 2021 Lisa Gotto, a professor of film theory at the University of Vienna, originally published her book, Passing and Posing. Between Black and White. Calibrating the Color Line in U.S. Cinema (Bielefeld: transcript verlag, 2021) in German in 2006 as Traum und Trauma inContinue reading “283: Gotto’s Passing and Posing”

Archival Spaces 282 Martin Koerber‘s Laudatio for Chris Horak Uploaded 12 November 2021 For the first time ever, I have given space in my blog for a guest author. On 4 November 2021, Martin Koerber, Curator at the Deutsche Kinemathek, Berlin, and also responsible for the film archive, gave the laudation speech in the KinoContinue reading “282: Life Achievment Award”

Archival Spaces 281 Carlos Gardel’s Tango Bar (1935) Uploaded 29 October 2021 In a few days I will leave be leaving for Berlin, where I will be giving a keynote at the German Kinemathek’s “Film Restored” film festival, which as the title says, highlights new film restorations, and also introduce a film with Tango star Carlos Gardel, ElContinue reading “281: Carlos Gardel Tango Bar (1935)”

Archival Spaces 280 Giornate del Cinema Muto 2021 Online Uploaded 15 October 2021 This is the 40th anniversary of what is now the oldest silent film festival in the world. I attended my first Giornate del cinema muto in Pordenone in 1988, when I accepted the Jean Mitry Award in the name of George Pratt, theContinue reading “280: Giornate del cinema muto Online”

Archival Spaces 279 L.A. Rebellion Project – 10 Years On Uploaded 1 October 2021 Tomorrow the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ newly opened Academy Museum begins a seventeen-film series, “Imperfect Journey: Haile Gerima and His Comrades” (2 October – 14 November) which is being presented in conjunction with Gerima becoming the Museum’s firstContinue reading “279: L.A. Rebellion 10 Tears On”

Archival Spaces 278Amazing Tales Online: Library of Congress’s Paper Prints restoredUploaded 17 September 2021 The San Francisco Silent Film Festival has been hosting screenings and special Zoom webinars, an extension of their in-person “Amazing Tales” program during the festival, where film archivists report on preservation projects. On 29 August, SFSFF hosted two women from theContinue reading “278: Restored Paper Prints”