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Queer moving image materials, to paraphrase the old gay rights slogan, are everywhere. Three kinds of archives collect them: LGBT1 archives, non-LGBT mixed media archives, and moving image archives. These repositories collectively hold thousands of Films and tapes with queer content, made by queer filmmakers, and/or perceived as queer by audiences. In addition, studio libraries hold many of the original elements of LGBT theatrical releases and television programs. A new model for queer audiovisual archiving is the Outfest Legacy Collection at the UCLA Film and Television Archive, founded in 2005, which brings together the complementary resources of a major LGBT film organization and a premiere moving image repository.
Being "everywhere" creates both opportunities and challenges for preservation and access. In one respect, queer films and tapes are too scattered for their own good: LGBT independent and amateur productions are typically stored in media-unfriendly conditions in ftlmmakers' homes rather than in archives. For decades LGBT people have shot and appeared in home movies and home videos, documented the activities of queer organizations, and filmed queer events; the surge of independent queer filmmaking that began in the 1980s has increased in subsequent years. Since mainstream cinema and television have consistently marginalized LGBT people, a large percentage of all queer moving images are found in independent and amateur works. These films and tapes contain the great majority of moving images that have a queer point of view, portray LGBT people as complex individuals rather than stereotypes, offer a diversity of race, age, ethnic background, politics, gender identification, and other qualities, and show LGBT people in the context of our relationships, families, and communities. Because amateur and independent productions are rarely widely distributed, typically only a few elements exist of each title. If these elements remain in filmmakers' closets and basements, they will eventually deteriorate, suffer damage, or be discarded or lost. In the meantime, usually only the filmmaker has access to the materials. To make these images viewable now and in the future, archival outreach is essential.
Archives house LGBT moving images dating from the very early days of cinema to the most recent releases. Queer archival holdings include features and short subjects; fiction, documentary, experimental, animated, and educational films; newsreels, screen tests, outtakes, trailers, behind-the-scenes footage, home...