“It is too early to say precisely what the art of video comprises, but the Council has been a positive supporter in the search to find out”

NYSCA 1972-73 Film Program

As organizations devoted to the independent cinema grew stronger in 1972-73, the work of independent filmmakers continued to reach wider audiences and receive more serious attention. Council support contributed to the stabilization of such centers as the Millennium Film Workshop and the CircleFilm Forum in New York City and Media Study, Inc. in Buffalo,where film showings concentrate on the work of contemporary film artists. Council grants helped to continue the New American Filmmakers Series at the Whitney Museum of American Art and to expand the services of study centers at the Anthology Film Archives and the film department of The Museum of Modern Art. Support was also continued for the exhibition of theatrical films by grants to The Film Society of Lincoln Center for the tenth New York Film Festival; to Upstate Films, in Rhinebeck, for its presentations of children's programs, and repertory cinema for adult audiences; and to a number of library systems throughout the State for long-term lease of 16mm films for multiple showings in member libraries.

Services provided by the Council-supportedMediaEquipmentResourceCenter (MERC) increased appreciably, confirming the long-range economy of free short-term loan of equipment on which the Center is based. The Young Filmaker's Foundation, which administers MERC, has evaluated at almost $500,000 the equipment and services provided over a two-year period for a diverse 'group of more than three hundred individual artists and organizations on the basis of Council support totaling $125,000.

Although funds available for film projects were smaller in 1972-73 than in the two previous years, the variety of programs aided was maintained. Activities supported included movie showings in neighborhood parks in Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Ithaca, New York City, and Rochester, and in Nassau and WestchesterCounties. Major support also went to workshop movie-making sponsored by such organizations as the Earlville Opera House, the Nineteenth Ward Community Association inRochester, The Film Workshop of Westchester, the Upper Hudson Library Federation, and Women's InterartCenter and Women Make Movies, both in New York City.

In 1972-73 the Film and Video Bureau, a subsidiary of theFilm Speakers Bureau, administered a long-standing Council program of financial assistance to schools, film societies, and other organizations for a variety of film and video services. The Bureau provided matching funds up to $300 for film rentals, matching funds up to $150 for appearances by film speakers, and partial fees for video artists who demonstrated and talked about their work. Some organizations also received partial support for rental of videotapes. A geographical listing of this activity appears on page 143.

The combination of libraries, museums, community artscenters and non-commercial theatres exhibiting movies in 1972-73 offered unprecedented opportunities to partake of the extraordinary breadth of the film medium. Council support for film activity in New YorkState totaled over $500,000 and affected 60 groups and institutions. An alphabetical listing of organizations receiving Council funds for film activities appears on page 69.

Film assistance in 1972-73 Anthology Film Archives, see Film Art Fund. The ArtsCenter on Maryrose Campus, Albany. $600 for film rentals for an international film series for children.* Brooklyn Arts and Culture Association (BACA). $1,500 for administrative costs of a festival showing of the works of new filmmakers in ProspectPark.* Brooklyn Public Library. $3,000 for the long-term leasing of 16mm films for distribution to ten branch libraries presenting a Family Night Film Showcase for Brooklyn audiences. CarrollGardens Association, Brooklyn. $8,500 for the salaries of a director, an assistant, and two instructors, and for film stock, processing ex-penses, and materials for a neighborhood film workshop for young people. Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System, Jamestown. $15,000 for the long-term leasing of 16mm films for member libraries, and for the salary of a film librarian. Circle Film Forum, New York City. $11,500 for administrative salaries and rentals of works by independent filmmakers to acquaint general audi- ences with noncommercial films and give exposure to films "rarely screened in commercial theatres. Clinton-Essex Counties Council on the Arts, Pittsburgh. $430 for film rentals for the PlattsburghFilm Society's community film series.* Clinton-Essex-Franklin Library, Plattsburgh. $4,000 for the long-term leasing of 16mm films for distribution to member libraries throughout the tri-county area. Committee for a Second Festival, Rochester. $7,500for an administrative salary and expenses for specialized festival activities including children's programs, video and multimedia events, film workshops, and community experiments in filmmaking. Community Communication Foundation, Buffalo.$3,500 for the salary of a teacher and supplies for training in film and television in Buffalo's black community. Community Education Collaborative, East Setauket. $4,000 for the salary of filmmaker-in-residence Karl Epstein, and for materials and related expenses for a nine-week residency.* Council for the Arts in Westchester, White Plains. $250 for film rentals for a fall film festival for White Plains and surrounding communities.* Earlville Opera House. $5,000 for a director's salary and for film stock and processing expenses for a film workshop for teenagers, adults, and senior citizens; and for film rentals for weekend film festivals serving Earlville, Hamilton, Morrisville, Sherburne, and other Madison and Chenango County communities.* Educational Film Library Association, New York City. $13,780 for the salaries of an information officer and an assistant serving organizations and individuals throughout the State. Film Art Fund, New York City. $9,800 for the sal-aries of a director, two assistant directors, and a projectionist, and for materials for the study center at Anthology Film Archives. The Film Society of Lincoln Center, New York City. $30,000 for production costs of the tenth New York Film Festival. Film Speakers Bureau, New York City. $35,000 for a program providing matching funds for rental of films and videotapes and for fees for lectures on films, filmmaking, and video presented at schools, community centers, libraries, and museums throughout the State. A geographical listing of the activities of the Bureau appears on page 143. The Film Workshop of Westchester, Tarrytown. $1,300 for a director's salary for a program of filmmaking courses, lectures, and film showings for the community. Free Movies, New York City. $5,000 for salaries and film and equipment rentals for outdoor showings of a variety of contemporary short films in Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Hempstead, Mamaroneck, Rochester, Syracuse, and Woodstock. Fund for Alternatives in Education, New York City. $2,000 for a film consultant's salary for community filmmaking workshops for schoolchildren.* Greater Middletown Arts Council. $2,000 for film rentals and operating expenses for silent film presentations at state hospitals, senior citizen cen-ters, and nursing homes.* Hamilton Hill "Drop-In" Arts and CraftsCenter, Schenectady. $2,250 for the salary of a film teacher for workshop programs for children and young adults. Hamilton-Madison House, New York City. $1,000 for film stock and processing expenses for a chil-dren's film workshop.* Henry Street Settlement, New York City. $15,790 for salaries of a director for a 16mm film work-shop and an assistant instructor for a Super-8 workshop for young children and teen-agers.* Hornell Area Arts Council. $750 for a film instruc-tor's salary and equipment rentals for filmmaking workshops for students, adults, and senior citizens. The Hudson RiverMuseum, Yonkers. $4,000 for the salary of an instructor and film stock and processing expenses for a filmmaking workshop for teen-agers and young adults.* Hunter Arts and the Concert Bureau of HunterCollege, New York City. $750 for film rentals for an experimental film series.* Live Arts see Regional Economic Community Action Program. The Loft Film and TheatreCenter, Bronxville. $7,000 for the salary of a director for a filmmaking workshop for young people in Bronxville, Mt.Vernon, Tuckahoe, and nearby Westchester communities. Media Equipment Resource Center (MERC) see Young Filmaker's Foundation. Media Study, Buffalo. $20,000 for teachers' salaries and fees for resident and visiting media artists, and for equipment and space rental for a contemporary media curriculum offered to a broad cross-section of Buffalo residents.* The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. $5,000 for the salary of a teacher working with kindergarten children and their nonverbal reac-tions to film and other media.* Mid-Hudson Libraries, Poughkeepsie. $5,000 for the long-term leasing of 16mm feature films for distribution to sixty-one member libraries in Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Putnam, and Ulster Counties. Mid-York Library System, Utica. $5,000 for the long-term leasing of 16mm films for distribution to member libraries in Herkimer, Madison, and OneidaCounties. Millennium Film Workshop, New York City.$23,000 for the salaries of a director, three assistant directors, and film instructors, and for speakers'fees and film rentals for a program that includeslectures by independent filmmakers and workshops and classes in all aspects of filmmaking. Mohawk-Hudson Council on Educational Television (WMHT-TV, Channel 17), Schenectady. $5,000 for the salary of filmmaker-in-residence Jack Ofield to produce a series of documentaries on traditional craftsmen.* MohawkValley Library Association, Schenectady. $7,500 for the long-term leasing of 16mm feature films for distribution to thirteen member libraries for use by community organizations in Fulton, Montgomery, Schenectady, and Schoharie Counties. Movies On A Shoestring, Rochester. $500 for film rentals for a film show selected from the 1972 annual amateur film festival, traveling to colleges, high schools, film clubs, hospitals, and libraries in MonroeCounty. The Museum of ModernArt, New York City. $6,000 for the salary of a librarian-cataloger in the Museum's film department.* Narcotics Education Workshop of Westbury. $2,500 for the salary of a film teacher for a film-making workshop open to the public in this Long Island community. Nassau Library System, Garden City. $3,000 for the long-term leasing of feature films for distribution to member libraries. Nineteenth Ward Community Association, Rochester. $9,021 for the salaries of two instructorsand operating expenses for the Youth Projectmedia workshop program in filmmaking. North Country Library System, Watertown. $10,000for the long-term leasing of 16mm films for distribution to sixty-one member libraries in Jeffer- son, Lewis, Oswego, and St. Lawrence Counties. Regional Economic Community Action Program, Live Arts (RECAP), Middletown. $5,000 for instructors' salaries and for film stock and processingexpenses for a community filmmaking workshop.* The Rensselaer Newman Foundation Chapel and Cultural Center, Troy. $800 for film rentals and speakers' fees for a program on recent films of artistic significance.* The RyeArtCenter. $900 for a teacher's salary and for film stock and processing expenses for an animation workshop for elementary school-children.* SouthShore Cultural ArtsCenter, Point Lookout. $750 for the salary of an instructor and for filmstock and processing expenses for a young peo-ple's film workshop.* Southern Adirondack Library System, Saratoga Springs. $3,500 for the long-term leasing of 16mm feature films for distribution to twenty-eight mem-ber libraries for use by community organizations.