FILM ARCHIVES
Basement Films maintains an archive of films that is beyond ridiculous.
Albuquerque Public School Collection
This is the largest collection of films that were donated to Basement Films. We aquired the collection in 1995 when the Albuquerque Public School System was moving away from 16mm classroom film and replacing that format with video. There are about 6000 titles in this collection. Although many of the titles are traditional, educational films, some are New Mexico specific, and you will find a mix of narrative titles as well including a rare 16mm copy of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis. As with all three of our collections, if one is a patient researcher, the archive is rich with surprises!
Download List of films in this collection.
Religious Educational Films Collection
This collection contains approximately 1000 16mm films dating from the 1930s through the 1960s. We acquired the collection in 2013 from a family whose father had distributed them during the 1960s and 1970s (on his death bed he confessed to his children that he was a life long atheist and his interest in these films was purely profit driven!). The condition of the films varies as some canisters had been stored for years in a backyard shed. Where “traditional” educational films contain a very specific, conservative morality, these films add to that morality an additional filter of religiosity.
Download List of films in this collection.
South Broadway Cultural Center Collection
This collection of 16mm films was donated in 2005 by the library at the South Broadway Cultural Center in Albuquerque. The collection contains approximately 500 titles and is a mixed bag of films that seems to include movies from the 1930s–1980s. Some of the films are traditional educational films and some of the educational films speak to a Chicano/Chicana audience. There are a number of titles that address civil rights issues such as Martin Luther King Jr: From Montgomery to Memphis and A Tribute to Malcolm X. Additionally, the collection contains some narrative titles such as Our Gang Follies of 1936 and the classic film Two Tars featuring Laurel and Hardy.
Download List of films in this collection.
Our collection consists of approximately 8,000 16mm films, thousands of 35mm film strips, and hundreds of 8mm films. The 16mm films have been catalogued into three spread sheets as per the three collections that were donated to our non-profit organization. We encourage members of the community to contact us to exercise these films for any kind of creative research project you might imagine! Also know that in doing your research, if there are particular films that you would like digital copies of, Basement Films does have the capability to make digital copies of any films from our collections. The fee for digital copying varies depending on the usage and project budget. Have fun searching our lists of films!
CLIPS
This clip from New Doorways to Learning shows how in the 1950s church groups were beginning to embrace "new" technologies in their activities. This film was produced by Cathedral Films that was one of the larger distributors of religious, educational films.
We Live in a Trailer was an educational film produced in the 1950s by Bailey Films. It's intention was to describe a family who lived in a mobile home and convince viewers that, although their living situation was unique, they were just like you and me... This is a one minute clip from this historic film.
Screen News Digest was a series of educational films from the 1950s–1960s produced by the Public Service Company of New Mexico. This clip shows the introduction that was used in each film. Many of the films in Basement Films archive are New Mexico specific. This intro is an example of this.
