The Outfest Legacy Project Celebrates Its 5th Anniversary

The Outfest Legacy Project, a collaboration between the UCLA Film & Television Archive and Outfest, is proud to announce its 5th Anniversary. "The Outfest Legacy Project is the only program in the world dedicated to saving and protecting LGBT moving images and in just five short years, we have made great strides in addressing the growing crisis of LGBT films and moving image media that are threatened by deterioration and neglect," said Kirsten Schaffer, Executive Director of Outfest.

"The Outfest Legacy Project is central to the UCLA Film & Television Archive's commitment to preserving groundbreaking works by LGBT filmmakers," said Jan-Christopher Horak, Director, UCLA Film & Television Archive. "We shall continue working on the monumental task of rescuing endangered LGBT works and making them available to audiences and scholars worldwide."

To celebrate this milestone, the UCLA Film & Television Archive and Outfest have scheduled screenings and events across Los Angeles throughout 2010, beginning with Jamie Babbit's But I'm a Cheerleader on Friday, February 26 at 7:30 p.m. at UCLA's Billy Wilder Theater in Westwood, CA.

To date, Outfest and the UCLA Film & Television Archive have restored ?six films: Parting Glances, Word is Out, Choosing Children, Queens at Heart, Of Heaven and Earth: Films by Tom Chomont and The 1st Christopher Street West Parade Footage.

With over 13,000 titles in the collection, The Outfest Legacy Project has established itself as the leading archive for LGBT media preservation. Among the archived works are oral histories and lectures from the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archive Collection and footage of a 1977 poetry reading benefit for Gay Sunshine Press featuring Allen Ginsberg.

"It is crucial that these works and histories be preserved for future generations. We are so grateful to have UCLA as a partner; their work and dedication to the preservation of LGBT film and media is truly inspirational," added Schaffer.

For more information on The Outfest Legacy Project and the 2010 5th Anniversary screening program, please visit www.outfest.org.

ABOUT OUTFEST

Outfest is the leading organization showcasing, nurturing and protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender film images and artistry. Since its inception in 1982, Outfest has led the charge, spotlighting emerging talent, creating community between filmmakers and audiences and offering a world-class forum for stories that reflect and often transform LGBT lives. Through our five programs, Outfest has showcased over 4,500 films for audiences of well over half a million people.

ABOUT UCLA FILM & TELEVISION ARCHIVE

The UCLA Film & Television Archive is internationally renowned for its pioneering efforts to rescue, preserve and showcase moving image media, and is dedicated to ensuring that the collective visual memory of our time is explored and enjoyed for generations to come.

The Archive is an acknowledged world leader in the restoration of film. Many of its most important projects-Double Indemnity (1944, Billy Wilder), The Red Shoes (1948, Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger), The Night of the Hunter (1955, Charles Laughton), Scorpio Rising 1963, Kenneth Anger), A Woman Under the Influence (1974, John Cassavetes) and The Times of Harvey Milk (1984, Robert Epstein)-are invited to screen at prestigious events around the globe.

For more information on the Outfest Legacy Project, visit http://www.outfest.org/index.php