The Emile de Antonio Collection

The Emile de Antonio Film collection at Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research


The Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research (WCFTR) was recently awarded a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) to support processing of the Center’s important archival collection on documentarian Emile de Antonio.

Here is an overview from the WCFTR website about the filmmaker:

Emile de Antonio (1919-1989) was an innovative documentary filmmaker, an art agent, and a political activist who was a force in the New Left movement of the 1960s-80s. The de Antonio collection documents the personal life, professional associations, political experiences, and filmmaking activities of an American polymath from the New Deal, through the radical 1960s, to the Reaganite 1980s. It constitutes a complete picture of the business of independent film production and distribution during the most fertile era of American independent cinema. His films addressed the major events of the Cold War era, including the McCarthy phenomenon, political assassinations, and the anti-war movement. The collection thus includes extensive research files and footage documenting post-War America, from the McCarthy hearings to the release of FBI files under the Freedom of Information Act, from the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and both Kennedy brothers to the Nixon administration, from the members of America's most influential art movements to the members of its most radical political groups.
The de Antonio collection is the most complete of the WCFTR’s personal manuscripts collections, but unfortunately it is also the most disordered. This processing project seeks to improve access to the collection by updating the tools for intellectual access, rearranging the manuscripts, and reducing duplicate moving image holdings. Increased use of the collection is the primary goal for both manuscript and moving image materials. 

The materials in the de Antonio collection are vast and varied. They include copies of his films and outtakes, pre-print materials, unedited audio recordings, and diaries. There are also unique correspondences and gifts from some of the most prominent figures of American art in the 20^thcentury such as Frank Stella, Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, John Cage, Diane Arbus, and others. These materials colorfully illustrate the feeling and energies of the leftist movement among artists in the 1960’s and 1970’s (de Antonio chose Madison as the repository for his archives because of the active Students for a Democratic Society [SDS] chapter here at the University of Wisconsin campus). 

The core of this collection is film and social activism and is a reflection of the importance WCFTR has in preserving some of the richest records of American film history.  These kinds of collections serve to introduce researchers, scholars, and film fans to the fantastic resources here in Wisconsin, and help to keep Madison on the map as a city that donates its care and resources to preserving our cultural heritage.
The processing of this collection made possible by the NHPRC grant will have not only a great impact on organization and accessibility within the archives, but also a cross-over impact for outreach and education in the wider community. Following the processing of this collection, there will be a retrospective and exhibition to showcase its unique content.  In this way, the archive will work to bridge the past with the present through collection, preservation, and education. Something we should all appreciate during Archives Month!
For more information on the resources and holdings at WCFTR, or to learn more about the Emile de Antonio collection, check out the following link: http://wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/

[Post Created by Laurel Gildersleeve]