Nation, Pedagogy & Cinema: The University of the Philippines Film Institute AV Archives Collections 1966-1995

The University of the Philippines Film Institute (UPFI) AV Archives is the only state-mandated educational institution acting as national custodian of AV materials. The oldest collections are the (1) open reels audio recordings of Marcos, Sr. From 1966 to 1974, rescued from the Malacañang Presidential Palace by the UPFC Archive team during the 1986 public uprising; and the (2) U-matic tapes of UPFC short films, documentations, and AV materials from institutional collaborators from the 1960s to the 1990s. These two collections span the first half of the 50-year existence of a national film institute and a significant part of the items are in stages of decay.

Through the support of the MEAP Planning Grant, a survey of the UPFI AV Archives will produce a publicly accessible historical inventory that details the beginnings of a nation’s non-conforming, radical cinematic tradition.