Preparing for the Orphan Film Symposium

As I've hinted in previous posts, I've set aside the regular agenda for Walking Off the Big Apple this week in order to make myself useful as the spouse of the organizer of a film symposium. This usefulness should last only through Sunday morning. Then I can return to my normal life as the peripatetic and useless bride, back out on the streets of Gotham in search of art and culture and in denial about any pressing needs at the grocery store.

The Orphan Film Symposium (official site), a biannual gathering of film scholars, film archivists, filmmakers, film restorers, and other filmic professionals, began in 1999 at the University of South Carolina. Designed to heighten awareness and improve preservation of previously neglected moving images such as home movies, industrial films, and educational films, the symposium grew in size and stature over the years. Dan Streible, the founder and animating impressario, now teaches at NYU, and the symposium will be held in NYC for the first time. Streible, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, was given the honorary distinction of "colonel" by the Commonwealth of Kentucky when he was 14 years old. The plaque hangs on our dining room wall. I took the framed decree down off the wall the other day to show someone, because the person seemed surprised by the whole thing.

I plan to write as many posts as possible about what transpires over the course of the next few days. The event begins tonight with a tribute to Helen Hill, a gifted filmmaker who was tragically killed in post-Katrina New Orleans. I will see several of the films tonight and during the next few days, but my main duty is to smile, run interference, and procure enough food and beverages for any sort of party. Over 300 people are registered for the symposium, with 18 countries represented. Fortunately, they're not all staying with us. My postings should provide an unusual perspective, given that I'm on the edges as a participant. I will have to break away from the proceedings at times so I can walk the dogs.

This morning I picked up the fine art prints of the posters for the symposium. I designed them. My artist friend in Tribeca did a great job printing them, and I think they look really good.