Needs of the SAFVP
This project is urgently needed because of the pressing call in both South Africa and the U.S. for scholarly and popular materials concerning South Africa.
The project also has the potential as an experiment in methods and models to open new possibilities for first inventorying and then saving what remains of the film and video record of the African continent which deteriorates each day.
In South Africa there is a strong interest to link to the increased demand in the U.S. for research and teaching materials on South Africa, including film and videotape for addressing many of the academic fields and even secondary school curricula, where South Africa is popular in middle school and high school social studies. Some of the university academic fields interested in these materials are African Studies (including African history, African film studies, African literature), U.S. history (especially comparative race relations and civil rights struggles), sociology and anthropology (including comparative race and ethnic relations, political sociology, etc.), world history, women’s and gender studies (on which there is a great deal of video material), and political science and international relations (especially comparative politics, democracy studies.)
U.S. scholars and many other U.S. constituencies have a strong interest in the new South Africa and its history because of the extraordinary engagement of U.S. businesses, government, churches, and travelers in the country, as well as the vibrant anti-apartheid movement in the U.S. over a period of 40 years; the dramatic transition to democracy in South Africa – perhaps the most extraordinary case of the 20th century; and the strong interest in the overarching issues of race, ethnicity, multiculturalism, gender, and democratic organizing that link our two societies.
Finally, this project is significant because it addresses a global need to take quick action to capture our moving image heritage on film and videotape before it is lost. Cataloging unique materials, providing public access to information about archival holdings, and setting priorities for copying and preservation of South African film and video are all elements of this project.