About Us
Northeast Historic Film (NHF) is a moving image archives, incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1986.
The mission of Northeast Historic Film is to collect, preserve, and share moving images of interest to the people of northern New England.
Collects
Our collections contain over ten million feet of film and more than 8,000 hours of video. NHF hold’s one of the world’s largest collections of home movies and amateur film. While our focus is on preservation of original materials relating to northern New England, they encompass a broader geography because filmmakers from the region traveled widely. For instance, NHF has the earliest known color film of Gandi shot by a Blue Hill, Maine resident. We also hold Maine newsfilm collections and the WCVB-TV Boston collection which consists of four million feet of 16mm newsfilm.
Preserves
NHF has a secure, three-story, state-of-the-art climate controlled vault. This facility houses our own collections as well as rental space for a wide variety of clients, including but not limited to universities, archives, State agencies, historical societies, individuals and businesses.
Collectively, our holdings constitute a record of 20th century regional culture seen from countless angles; the factory floor and the farm, in the woods and at sea, at home with our families and on the streets of our home towns.
Shares
Scholars, researchers and the public can track the evolution of film culture with our collection of books, periodicals, postcards, photographs, and a wide array of emphemera dating from the 1880s. NHF also gives various paid presentations catered to groups and their specific interests. The Alamo also plays host to an annual film symposium attended by archivists, scholars and researchers from all over the world. But where we are the most far-reaching is our online presence. Through social media, Vimeo, YouTube and our website, anyone has access to information about our holdings as well as a way to watch some pretty marvelous videos!
Our Home
The 1916 Alamo Theatre is home to Northeast Historic Film. It has anchored the downtown off and on for over 100 years. Our office spaces occupy the second floor. The main entrance to the archives is off Elm Street via a glass entryway known as, “The Link” that is the conduit between the original historic structure and the modern vault. The Theatre lobby is accessed directly from Main Street.
