I thought Currie might also send his request to Screen-L but since I haven't seen it here am forwarding to you professionals who might really have some good info to share. Thanks. Kathryn Bading, Trinity University Library, San Antonio Tex. ----------------------------Original message---------------------------- This is to ask those on the line who know something about the subject of film conservation and restoration two favors: (1) Please recommend any books on this subject that might be helpful. I have just learned of Anthony Slide's _Nitrate Won't Wait: A History of Film Preservation in the United States_ (ISBN 0-89950-652-6), which is being published by McFarland and Company, and I am buying a copy--not for myself, for a friend in Argen- tina. (2) If you are aware of any programs which might enable my friend to study this subject in the United States, please let me know about it. (By enable him to study film conservation and restoration, I mean that would pay or help pay his expenses.) A couple of comments, first, about my friend's qualifications and, secondly, about the importance of having people trained in this area in Argentina. First, my friend is a film editor. Until Argentina's financial crisis forced it to suspend classes this academic year at the National Institute of Cinematography, he taught film editing there. This year he is teaching at two Argentine universities. My point is that he is a professional and well prepared to take full advantage of the opportunity to study this subject. Secondly, Argentina's cinema is one of the two most historically impor- tant film traditions in Spanish America. (The other is Mexico. Since its 1959 revolution, Cuba has also had a very active film industry.) Yet much of Argentina's film has been--and is being--lost. (The country's current economic crisis is obviously not helping.) For example, only a few fragments remain of the work of Federico Valle, whose early work in film was quite innovative: Valle developed the technique for creating subtitles; he was the first person to incorporate an aerial shot in a film, he made Argentina's first news reels; and he made the world's first feature-length animated film. And much more recent work is also being lost--including important films that have received recognition at major festivals. My point is that, if my friend could become trained in the area of film conservation and restoration, he would be in a unique position to help save an important historical cultural tradition. My thanks to anyone who can recommend either books or programs that might be helpful. Currie Thompson