zedz wrote:I have no idea what, if anything, is intended next, but a possibility I think would be really strong, in terms of both the scope for inclusion and marketability, is a set arranged by region / city. Each disc or programme dedicated to films that record or celebrate different parts of the US (kind of like all those New York films on the 'Picturing a Metropolis' disc of the Unseen Cinema set). That could include documentaries, home-movie footage, experimental films, narrative features, industrial films, just about everything except animation, and probably a little of that too. Plus it's a great way to highlight the particular strengths of different archives' holdings.
Something similar was planned by the BFI in collaboration with various regional film archives - every UK parliamentary constituency (around 650) was to be represented by at least six films with strong links to the area, the results to be published in full online.
Sadly, the project as a whole was an early victim of the present government's cuts, though some of the research found its way into the BBC/BFI collaboration
The Reel History of Britain (whose
website includes loads of complete films), and the DVD
Here's a Health to the Barley Mow. I suspect there'll be more to come.