Preservation after Exhibition: A Qualitative Study of TIFF’s Film Exhibition Documentation

This thesis argues for the importance of preserving film object exhibition documentation for the benefit of future research, using TIFF’s exhibition program as the dominant case study. Academic writing on film exhibition is discussed through works that focus on the physical film object/screening, the film exhibition institution, and the film object beyond celluloid. The thesis analyzes what constitutes strong documentation, using examples from professionals and other film exhibition institutions. TIFF’s film exhibition department history is listed as a form of preserving the full list of exhibitions that were housed at TIFF. The material preserved by TIFF regarding their exhibition history has been quite limited. The exhibition files are included and then analyzed to determine what is missing that may limit future study. Successes in preservation are also addressed. Lastly, potential steps to address gaps in documentation are detailed.