Encounter Cinema records, 1970-1985, bulk 1979-1985

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Summary

Dates:
1970-1985, bulk 1979-1985
Creators:
Encounter Cinema
Abstract:
The collection contains organization files, maintained by administrator Douglas Edwards, on independent and experimental films screened at the theater, including correspondence, programs, press releases, clippings and reviews, and grant applications. There is information on American independent filmmakers, including resumes, filmographies, film synopses and reviews, pictorial material, and photographs.
Extent:
2.8 linear ft. of papers
Language:
Languages represented in the collection: English
Preferred citation:

Encounter Cinema records, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Background

Scope and content:

The Encounter Cinema records span the years 1970-1985 (bulk 1979-1985) and encompass 2.75 linear feet. The collection contains correspondence, programs, press releases, clippings and reviews, grant applications, and information on film series. The majority of the correspondence is between founder and film programmer Douglas Edwards and leading avant-garde/experimental filmmakers Stan Brakhage, Bastian Cleve, Stephen Dwoskin, Doris Chase, Walter Gutman, Ed Emshwiller, Walter Ungerer, and others. In addition, there is a wealth of information on American independent filmmakers who sought out Encounter Cinema and sent résumés, filmographies, film synopses and reviews, and pictorial material (including stills). Valuable topical information is found within film series files such as Japanese Experimental Films, Black American Independent Cinema, Narrative Film Experiments, Scandinavian Avant-Garde Films, and the American New Wave. Finally, financial records and grant applications chronicle the constant struggle to keep an arts organization financially viable.

Biographical / historical:

Encounter Cinema (1979-1985) is the outgrowth of programs launched in 1973 by Theatre Vanguard, a small, nonprofit center for performing and media arts in Los Angeles that focused on independent, avant-garde and/or noncommercial endeavors in film, music, dance, theater, poetry, and performance art. In 1978 the founding and principal patron of Theatre Vanguard closed the theater. Douglas Edwards, who had been the center's theater administrator and film adviser, founded Encounter Cinema with two new co-sponsoring organizations, the Los Angeles Craft and Folk Art Museum and the UCLA Film Archives. The series exhibition site was moved to Melnitz Theater at UCLA. Due to funding problems, Encounter Cinema folded in February 1985.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Douglas Edwards, 1986
Arrangement:

1. Subject files

Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Experimental films
Independent films
Names:
Encounter Cinema

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Catalogued by Sherk, Warren
Date Prepared:
Published January 2023
Date Encoded:
Machine-readable finding aid encoded by Ahn, Stella. Date of source: January 25, 2023.

Access and use

Restrictions:

Available by appointment only.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the physical object belong to the Margaret Herrick Library. Researchers are responsible for obtaining all necessary rights, licenses, or permissions from the appropriate companies or individuals before quoting from or publishing materials obtained from the library.

Preferred citation:

Encounter Cinema records, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Location of this collection:
333 S. La Cienega Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90211, US
Contact:
(310) 247-3036 extension 2226
specialcollections@oscars.org
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