The restoration of paintings, sculptures, photographs, and architectural works is now ruled by well-established theories, methods, and strategies. Film preservation is a much younger field, a constantly developing profession that deals with artifacts whose technical, aesthetic, and social implications are of unprecedented depth and complexity. While thousands of titles are produced every year, a relatively small percentage of those made over the past one hundred years has survived the ravages of time. A small community of experts is struggling for the survival of these precious images.
Few archives have adequate resources to fight their battle.
Even fewer have the privilege of actually restoring rare and unique works, rescued from oblivion under extraordinarily challenging circumstances. Sharing the knowledge of film preservation with a new generation of specialists was the dream of L. Jeffrey Selznick. He was born into the most impressive American filmmaking dynasty. Jeffrey Selznick chose to champion the cause of film preservation. As a first-hand witness to the damage done out of neglect for the work of his father and his grandfather, he realized the need for a school where people could be properly trained to preserve and restore motion picture film.