The Harvard Film Archive is in solidarity with all those who suffer and are in pain because of systematic racism and social injustice. We applaud those who protest and speak out and demand change. The brazen and tragic murders of black men and women in recent days have yet again made starkly clear a terrible disequilibrium in American society that must be corrected. Black lives matter. We mourn with anger the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor and countless others before them.

The cinema has the power to witness, to reveal and even to heal. As a cinematheque and as an archive, the Harvard Film Archive pledges to do much more to advance a film culture at Harvard and in the greater Cambridge/Boston area that includes artists traditionally excluded from the canon, including black filmmakers, and to advance knowledge in new areas through the acquisition, preservation and promotion of films and moving image collections that speak directly to the dire issues facing American society. The Harvard Film Archive recognizes the importance and urgency of attentively watching, listening and learning from those whose images have not yet been seen and whose voices have not yet been heard.

Due to the COVID-19 crisis and in accordance with university and state guidelines, the Harvard Film Archive cinematheque and office will be closed until further notice. HFA staff are working remotely on a range of projects and preparing for an eventual reopening, most likely in 2021. While our physical location remains closed, some remote research services and select collections are available online.