Annual Academy Award®-Nominated Screenings Postponed
Press Release · Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Washington, DC

Out of an abundance of caution given the pandemic, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has cancelled all 2021 Oscars-related screenings and in-person events. We look forward to continuing our partnership and this tradition in 2022. For a full list of this year’s nominees, see: www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2021

Each year since the opening of the William G. McGowan Theater in 2004, the National Archives has proudly hosted free screenings of the Academy Awards® nominees, providing Washington, DC, filmgoers the opportunity to see all of these films for free. The screenings included Academy Award® nominees in four categories – Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, Live Action Short Film, and Animated Short Film. This popular annual tradition is made possible by AMPAS in partnership with the National Archives Foundation.

Related virtual film conference: FILMS OF STATE
April 7–9, 2021
The National Archives and the University of Maryland will host Films of State, their first-ever live (virtual) Government Film Conference, with screenings, presentations, panel discussions, and “how-to” film research guidance. Open to academics, filmmakers, press, students, film historians, and anyone engaged in research and the re-use of government films! Full schedule and participation info online. Read more in the Unwritten Record post, Introducing Films of State, a Conference on Government Films.     

Conference speakers include Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero, National Archives Moving Image and Sound Holdings experts, film studies professors, professional researchers, and representatives from other federal institutions such as the National Museum of African American Culture and History and the National Library of Medicine. 

Background: The National Archives holds the permanently valuable records of the federal government. In addition to 14 billion documents, including the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights, the agency also holds an estimated half a million reels of motion picture film–the world’s largest public domain film collection. The Motion Picture Preservation Lab physically handles about 2 million feet of film per year – if laid out end-to-end, it would be greater than the distance between College Park, MD, and Boston, MA.  These films belong to the American people; most were made by the federal government and, as government works, are treated as though in the public domain. They include the Apollo 11 raw footage, the Iwo Jima Flag Raising, The March on Washington, and the first color film of Yellowstone National Park.