Inside the Archive #77: Preserving Frankenstein, a new-look study store and a trip to Colorado via London

Preserving contemporary feature films for future generations is as pivotal as preserving films from the distant past, especially in the ephemeral world of digital filmmaking where hardware, software and file formats become obsolete and disappear within a short space of time, if not preserved properly.

However, a number of filmmakers are returning to shooting, and/or distributing their films on celluloid. Once such filmmaker is BFI Fellow Guillermo de Toro, whose 2025 adaptation of Frankenstein was released in cinemas both digitally and on film – a title that the archive has subsequently acquired on 35mm for long-term preservation.

Acquisition of materials into the BFI National Archive’s collection involves careful consideration of whether the BFI is the most suitable archive and whether we have the appropriate resources and conditions to preserve a given item. The national collection consists of a vast range of film, video, digital, and paper materials relating to the moving image worldwide, but with a key objective to “establish, care for and develop collections reflecting the moving-image history and heritage of the United Kingdom”.

Decisions about what we preserve starts with the content and how well it fits the objective mentioned above. We then consider the materials on offer, and how best to care for them. In the case of Frankenstein (2025), while it is not a uniquely British film on first appearance, there are many aspects which bring it under the BFI National Archive’s collecting policy. The story of Frankenstein was written by British writer Mary Shelley. The film’s production involves British individuals, including producer Martin Joy, and cast members Mia Goth and Charles Dance. Filming also took place partly in the UK, in locations including Edinburgh and Lincolnshire.

Further to this, the fact that del Toro is an important international filmmaker, who has been awarded a BFI Fellowship and makes films in the UK, are all important considerations. The offer of a physical 35mm print also cannot be under-estimated. Celluloid film is considered one of the most stable long-term preservation materials if stored in the right conditions. So, overall, Frankenstein was a strong candidate for preservation by the BFI.

As well as making the case to bring this film into the BFI National Archive, I also accessioned the print myself. The film arrived at the BFI National Archive in early September 2026, consisting of nine reels in three hexagonal metal film transport containers. The first steps to ensuring the long-term preservation of the film are, firstly, to assess each reel on the winding bench, to make a note of all the technical specifications, and to assess the condition of the print. A fair amount of information can be gained from the leaders of the film (the sections of film at either end, added on to protect the film and give instructions to projectionists). On this print, the information included the reel number, aspect ratio of the image and instructions for the type of projection required.

Further to this, physical inspection can confirm that the film stock was Kodak (made in 2025), and the film has a Dolby SR (optical) and SRD (Digital) soundtrack. All the technical information is essential if the print is ever to be used in the future, whether for projection, or a film restoration: all these aspects will influence the future use of the film. This was a projection print. These can often arrive at the Archive very warn and torn. However, this print was in very good condition. There were barely any scratches on the film and little to no damage to the film perforations. It was a delight to wind through, not least because of how visually beautiful it was to look at.

The film reels are wound onto archival film cores and housed in archival metal film cans. Following this, cataloguing records are created for the print, which contain not only the filmographic information (director, cast, crew etc.), but also the technical and condition information that I gathered in the inspection process. Once catalogued the film is sent to the BFI Master Film Store for long-term preservation. In years to come, the film will still be available for a restoration and re-release so that a whole new generation can experience del Toro’s stunning creation.

– Rosie Taylor, Curator of Fiction Film (BFI National Archive)

Over the coming months, significant improvements to the archive’s collections care infrastructure will be delivered thanks to funding from the Public Bodies Infrastructure Fund (PBIF). Awarded directly by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, PBIF funding supports heritage and cultural organisations to finance urgent repair, facility and infrastructure projects that help bolster their long-term resilience.

The funds will allow the BFI National Archive to upgrade its Archive Activity Management System, a vitally important system that allows us to record when an item in our collections has been moved, scanned, conserved, digitised or sent for a screening, and invest across a suite of digital infrastructure upgrades that will enhance the archive’s film scanning and digitisation capabilities.

PBIF funding will also enable the redevelopment of the Screencraft Collections store at the J Paul Getty Jr Conservation Centre. Transforming into the Visual Arts Study Store, the project will see these storage facilities undergo a major refit, which will significantly improve how the archive’s visual arts materials are conserved, accessed and experienced.

Thanks to this investment, we will be able to relocate the collection, replace storage systems and create an improved collections environment that supports the long-term care of the collections. At the same time as rehousing the collections, the project will create a more accessible, user-centred space for object-based study and engagement across Screencraft.

To enable these improvements, the Screencraft collections and services will temporarily close from October 2026 to May 2027. During this period, access to the store, research appointments, reproduction requests, loans activity, offers to the collection and arranged visits will be suspended while work takes place.

When the Screencraft collections reopen in May 2027, it will be to a transformed space and refreshed service, designed to better support research, learning and creative practice while providing a stronger foundation for the long-term care and conservation of the collections. We look forward to sharing further updates as the new store begins to take shape.

– Alex Prideaux, Marketing and Content Manager and Miriam Phelan, Curator of Screencraft

As Guest Director of the 2026 Telluride Film Festival, Rebecca Hall selected Akenfield (1974) for presentation as part of the festival programme, introducing one of the great works of British cinema to new international audiences.

In her programme notes, Hall celebrated the film’s ability to find poetry in ordinary lives and described it as “deeply moving and endlessly beautiful”. Directed by her father, Peter Hall, and drawn from Ronald Blythe’s acclaimed account of rural Suffolk life, the film remains a powerful portrait of place, memory and community.

Reflecting on the film’s reception at the festival, Hall told us: “One of the surprises of choosing Akenfield as one of my Guest Director selections for this year’s Telluride Film Festival was how it got me thinking about communication. Julie Huntsinger, the festival’s director and I had a couple of conversations around whether we should include subtitles, on the assumption that the rural Suffolk accents of the primarily non-actor cast would be unintelligible to an American audience. In the end, we decided against using them. I am not sure if anyone particularly understood the words, in fact I know from conversations subsequently that mostly they did not. But of course it didn’t matter. When film is good it has a habit of managing to communicate exactly what it needs without words. Indeed, this is definitional I suppose, but easy to forget. To see an audience that could have been alienated by this experience instead be palpably moved was surprisingly profound and gave me a whole new faith in the universality of what can often seem specific.”

The screening highlighted the enduring value of the BFI National Archive’s work in preserving and sharing the UK’s screen heritage. Restored through the Unlocking Film Heritage programme, Akenfield continues to resonate with audiences around the world a decade later.

– Selma Kerlow, Head of Cultural Partnerships

On Friday 25 September, I had the pleasure of attending the 93% Club’s Social Mobility Factory. Named after the 93% of the British population who are educated in state schools, this event was dedicated to introducing students from state-school backgrounds to different career opportunities. I hosted a stand in the careers lounge, where I got the chance to speak to many wonderfully talented students about what we do at the BFI National Archive and career paths within screen heritage.

To say the stall was busy is an understatement! We had so much interest from students who already had a wealth of knowledge about the BFI and those who were hearing about us for the first time. It was a pleasure to see so much curiosity in our work, and we had so many questions that I almost lost my voice!

One of the things I particularly enjoyed was introducing students to the breadth of careers that exist within the screen heritage sector. We discussed the many elements of archive work, from curators and archivists to broader collections management, operations, access and development, as well as data and digital preservation. Students were intrigued by how broad our work is, and I was able to discuss with them the different professional or educational experiences that can help make a career in screen heritage a reality.

From my perspective, the event was useful in helping me think about the materials, resources and opportunities that could be created to support young professionals looking to enter the sector. It gave me a strong foundation to consider how we can develop this further through the workforce of the future strand of the BFI’s new lottery-funded Stories in Motion project, making screen heritage careers more accessible to everyone.

– Paola Martucci, Workforce and Volunteer Coordinator (Heritage Programmes)

The Inside the Archive blog is supported by the BFI Screen Heritage Fund, awarding National Lottery Good Cause funding.