Introduction

The Pacific Film Archive (PFA) is an internationally recognized center for the exhibition and study of cinema. Through its daily film and video screenings, collection, and study resources, the PFA is committed to increasing the understanding and appreciation of the art of cinema.

Film and Video Exhibition

Notes compiled or written about each film currently being screened at the PFA, along with play-dates and times, in chronological order. Using the "find" feature of your WWW browsing software to look up a specific date or film title can be a handy way to quickly find specific information.

Information on film series (current and past) being shown at the PFA, with links from film titles to the appropriate film note & play date. This information varies from a short introduction to the series to a multi-page resource with images and links to related information on the Internet.

The Pacific Film Archive began daily film exhibition in 1971 in the then newly constructed University Art Museum. It was envisioned as a center where films from around the world could be exhibited under the best possible conditions, and where filmmakers, scholars and the audience would regularly gather for an open exchange of ideas. Most film and video programs are presented in the 234-seat George Gund Theater.

PFA's daily exhibition program emphasizes excellence and diversity, highlighted by challenging works of independent film and video; rare archival prints of classic cinema; and premieres, retrospectives, and rediscoveries from world cinema. PFA series have explored such topics as minority cultures in American cinema, Third World cinema, pre-Revolutionary Russian cinema, and Film Noir: German Cinema in Exile.

Among the series PFA has presented using the film collection as a base are: The Russian Eccentrics, Visions of the Dharma in Japanese Cinema, and Pop and Circumstances: American Film in the '60s.

PFA has helped introduce Bay Area audiences to the works of directors such as Japan's Yasujiro Ozu and Masahiro Shinoda, Greece's Theo Angelopoulos, Britain's Mike Leigh, China's Chen Kaige, Belgium's Chantal Akerman, and Mali's Soulymane Cisse. Comprehensive retrospectives have explored the cinemas of Iran, Vietnam, Mexico, Portugal, France, Greece, India, Senegal, and the former Soviet Republics.

Guest appearances by film artists are a regular feature of the program. Guests have included directors Michelangelo Antonioni, Stan Brakhage, Chantal Akerman, Akira Kurosawa, David Lynch, Werner Herzog, Michael Snow, and Wim Wenders. Also, cinematographer Sven Nykvist, writer Barry Gifford, film editor Walter Murch, theorist/filmmaker Trinh T. Minh-ha, ethnographer/filmmaker Timothy Asch, actor Toshiro Mifune and actor/screenwriter Buck Henry

PFA Library and Study Center

The PFA Library and Film Study Center is one of the major film information resources in the country, providing film study and information services and access to films in the collection. Access to the PFA Library and Film Study Center is free for UAM/PFA members and to students and faculty of the University of California at Berkeley. There is a low usage fee for the general public.

Film and Video Collection

The PFA collection includes more than 7,000 titles, with areas of concentration in Soviet silent and Eastern European cinema, international animation, American experimental cinema, video art of the '70s, and the largest collection of Japanese cinema outside of Japan. The collection also includes an international selection of feature films and documentaries. Among the artists represented are Ingmar Bergman, Akira Kurosawa, Larissa Shepitko, Dziga Vertov, Gunvor Nelson, Chick Strand, and George Kuchar. PFA has identified the preservation of independent and experimental film as institutional priorities, concentrating efforts on works by Bay Area filmmakers.

PFA Children's Film Programs

PFA presents a number of special programs each year for children and families, including the Children's Film Program which presents carefully programmed films to more than 12,000 school-aged children every year. The annual Children's International Film Festival and the Teddy Bear Film festival are also popular family presentations.