ArcheoBiblioBase: Archives in Russia: C 16

Gosudarstvennyi fond kinofil'mov RF (Gosfil'mofond Rossii/GFF)

[State Fond of Motion Pictures]

Agency: Ministerstvo kul'tury i massovykh kommunikatsii Rossiiskoi Federatsii (Minkul'tury Rossii)
[Ministry of Culture and Mass Communication of the Russian Federation]

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Address: 142050, Moscow oblast, Domodedovo, mikroraion Belye Stolby, prosp. Gosfil'mofonda; (Moscow Office): 125009, Moscow, Malyi Gnezdnikovskii per., 9/8, build. 1-4
Telephone: (495) 546-05-20; Fax: (495) 546-05-12, (496-79) 6-34-98, (279) 6-34-98 (fax from Moscow); (Moscow Office): (495) 629-91-09, tel./fax: (495) 234-18-61
RdngRm: 546-05-13
E-mail: gff@t50.ru; gosfilmofond@hotmail.com; filmfond@aha.ru (Moscow Office)
Website: http://gosfilmofond.ru or http://www.aha.ru/~filmfond/
Hours: M-F 9:00-17:00
General Director: Nikolai Mikhailovich Borodachev (tel. 546-05-05)
Deputy General Director, Head of Center for International Relations and Scientific-Information Activities: Vladimir Iur'evich Dmitriev (tel. 546-05-13)
Chief, Division of Domestic Films: Vladimir Nikolaevich Antropov (tel. 546-05-14)

Previous Names

1948-1992 - Vsesoiuznyi gosudarstvennyi fond kinofil'mov (Gosfil'mofond)
[All-Union State Fond of Motion Pictures]

About Gosfil'mofond

Established in 1948, Gosfil'mofond serves as a centralized repository for the collection and storage of depository copies and negatives of all artistic, popular science, and other feature films and shorts, as well as some documentary films and animated films—by 1993 totalling some 50,000 titles, together with related film footage and editing outtakes, produced in the former Soviet Union. Before 2000, Gosfilmofond operated under the State Committee for Cinematography (Goskino), but since then the functions of the State Committee and with it Gosfil'mofond have been under the Ministry of Culture.

Since 1991, Gosfil'mofond collects films from Soviet successor states and other foreign countries. Owing to the privatization of film production, however, and the extent to which many post-1991 films have been produced as joint ventures, Gosfil'mofond has not succeeded in acquiring copies (and related archival materials) of all recent films.

In addition to the films themselves, Gosfil'mofond also has an extensive collection of scenarios, film posters, photographs, press clippings, scrapbooks, set designs, production files covering 4,572 films, and other documentation on the history of film. It holds the personal papers of the filmmakers and directors, as well as film critics and scholars. It retains individual personal record cards on the major figures of Soviet cinematography. Gosfil'mofond provides an important center for film research, with an extensive cataloguing and publication program.

N.B. Documentary films and newsreels are normally retained by RGAKFD (B-11), while films produced specifically for television are preserved by Gosteleradiofond (C-17).

Access

Access to Gosfil'mofond collections is unrestricted for bona fide researchers and their agents. There are occasional limitations due to preservation requirements. Fees are charged for screening films and the use of research facilities. Inquiries can be made by letter, telephone, or personal visit.

Working Conditions

All film research and other types of work with documents are handled by the Center for International Relations and Scientific-Information Activities at Gosfil'mofond. Prospective visitors can obtain more detailed information about the materials in Gosfil'mofond and research facilties from the Center. There are special projection rooms for viewing films (on a fee basis). Advance arrangements can often be made for screening films from Gosfil'mofond holdings at the Scientific Research Institute for Cinema Arts (NII kinoiskusstva) in Moscow.

Recent General Guides

Extracts from the catalogue of domestic films and film personalities are available at the website: http://www.aha.ru/~filmfond/. See also sample entries for archival materials: http://www.aha.ru/~filmfond/left2.htm.

Sovetskie khudozhestvennye fil'my: Annotirovannyi katalog. Compiled by N. A. Glagoleva et al. Edited by A. V. Macheret et al. 5 vols. Moscow, 1961-1979. (Lib: DLC; IU; MH) [IDC-R-10,999]

Vol. 1: Nemye fil'my (1918-1935). 527 p.
Vol. 2: Zvukovye fil'my (1930-1957).784 p.
Vol. 3: Prilozheniia. 307 p.
Vol. 4: (1958-1963). 824 p.
Vol. 5: (1964-1965). M., 1979. 432 p.

A systematic annotated catalogue of Soviet feature films, copies of which are held in Gosfil'mofond. Provides extensive annotated entries and bibliography for each film covering extant scenarios, reviews, and related analyses. There are indexes of directors, actors, and production studios, and lists of film productions from the former union republics.

Sovetskie khudozhestvennye fil'my: Annotirovannyi katalog.Moscow: "Niva Rossii," 1995-. [Gosfil'mofond]
- ---, 1966-1967 gg. Compiled by V. P. Borovkov, M. I. Pavlova, et al. Edited by V. S. Malyshev. M., 1995. 287 p.
- ---, 1968-1969 gg. Compiled by E. M. Barykin. S.V. Skovorodnikova, et al. M., 1995. 303 p.
- ---, 1970-1971 gg. Compiled by M. I. Pavlova and E. M. Barykin. M., 1996. 308 p.
- ---, 1972-1973 gg. Compiled by N. M. Chemodanova and T. V. Sergeeva. M., 1996. 303 p.
- ---, 1974-1975 gg. Compiled by N. M. Chemodanova and V. P. Borovkov. M., 1997. 318 p.
- ---, 1976-1977 gg. Compiled by V. F. Semerchuk and T. V. Sergeeva. M., 1997. 344 p.
- ---, 1978-1979 gg. Compiled by E. M. Barykin and V. F. Semerchuk. M., 1998. 344 p.
- ---, 1980-1981 gg. Compiled E. M. Barykin et al. M., 1998. 384 p.
- ---, 1982-1983 gg. Compiled by V. F. Semerchuk, S. V. Skovorodnikova. M., 1999. 368 p.
- ---, 1984-1985 gg. Compiled by V. N. Antropov et al. M., 2001. 416 p.
Continues the annotated catalogue of Soviet feature film productions, copies of which are held in Gosfil'mofond. The new, much more popularized format provides less extensive annotations and lacks the bibliography and extensive indexes of the earlier series, although there are alphabetical lists of films and lists of production studios, including those of the former union republics. Additional volumes are in preparation covering films produced during subsequent years, and plans call for cumulative bibliographies and indexes.

Testimoni silenziosi: Film russi, 1908-1919/Silent Witness: Russian Films, 1908-1919. Compiled by P. Usai. [Pordenone]: Biblioteca dell'Immagine, [ca. 1989]. 621 p. Coordinated with an introduction by Iurii Tsivian. [Associazione le Giornate del Cinema Muto; British Film Institute] (Lib: DLC; IU; MH) Parallel texts in English and Italian.
RUSSIAN VERSION: *Velikii Kinemo. Compiled by V. Ivanova, V. Myl'nikova, S. V. Skovorodnikova, Iu. Tsiv'ian, R. Vengerov. Moscow: Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie, 2002. 566 p.
A filmographic catalogue of 286 silent films which have been restored and reprinted on 35mm safety film by Gosfil'mofond, including prerevolutionary feature and animated films (1908-1917) and privately produced films (1917-1919). Page-long annotations include cross-references to shooting diaries, title lists, and reviews, with comments from reminiscences and other documentation in Gosfil'mofond, the Museum of Cinema, and other archival sources. Includes appended biograms of 17 filmmakers, bibliographic references, and indexes. The Russian edition has been revised and updated.