Black Film Center/Archive (BFC/A)

Overview

The Black Film Center and Archive (BFCA) at Indiana University Bloomington is the only archive in the world solely dedicated to collecting, preserving, and making accessible films by and about Black people. Founded in 1981 and located on the ground floor of the Herman B Wells Library (Room 044), the BFCA holds materials dating from 1895 to the present, including 3,000+ film and television titles from more than 40 countries in formats ranging from DVD and VHS to Betacam, film reels, and laserdisc. The archive is open to researchers, students, filmmakers, and the general public. If you are a filmmaker, scholar, or programmer researching Black cinema history, this is the primary archival resource in the world. Visit bfca.iu.edu to explore collections and plan a research visit.

The BFCA is directed by Novotny Lawrence, associate professor of cinema and media studies at The Media School, Indiana University. The archive acquires materials through private donations and purchases, building a collection that documents the full history of Black filmmaking from the silent era through contemporary cinema.

Collections and Holdings

The BFCA's General Collection consists of over 3,000 film and television titles from more than 40 countries, acquired through private donations and purchases. Formats include DVD, VHS, Betacam, 16mm and 35mm film, and laserdisc. The collection also holds an international array of publicity materials: production stills, posters, lobby cards, press kits, and press books. A reference collection covers scholarship on African American, African, Caribbean, Middle Eastern, Diasporic, and European cinemas, including genres and movements such as race filmmaking, Afro-futurism, Afro-surrealism, L.A. Rebellion, Hollywood, Nollywood, Blaxploitation, Pan-African, experimental, feminist, and queer cinemas.

Recent special collections include:

• S. Torriano Berry Collection (1979-2025): Materials from the filmmaker and author, including independent Black cinema works.
• Elena Guzman Collection (2019-2025): Materials related to the filmmaker and scholar's work in diasporic cinema.
• Elizabeth Mitchell and David Gudaitis Collection (bulk 2006-2025): Production materials and documentation from independent Black film production.
• Michelle Materre Collection: Acquired in 2024 and opened to researchers in 2025, this collection documents the life and legacy of film distributor, consultant, and educator Michelle Materre (1954-2022). Materre co-founded KJM3 Entertainment in 1992, the company that released Julie Dash's Daughters of the Dust (1991) - the first theatrically distributed feature film directed by a Black American woman. KJM3 also distributed early work by Raoul Peck, director of the Oscar-nominated I Am Not Your Negro (2016). The Materre Collection consists of over 20,000 paper documents, 500 videos and discs, 4 film reels, and 6,000 digital files, including screeners, publicity materials, consulting files, production documents, and recordings from the Creatively Speaking film series.

Race Films and Black Cinema History

The BFCA's holdings include materials from the race film era (roughly 1915-1950), when hundreds of independently made films featuring all-Black casts were produced by Black and white producers for Black audiences. Mainstream Hollywood systematically excluded Black performers from non-stereotypical roles during this period. Companies including the Lincoln Motion Picture Company, the Micheaux Film Corporation (operated by Oscar Micheaux, the most prolific Black filmmaker of the era), and the Norman Film Manufacturing Company produced melodramas, westerns, comedies, and detective films that presented images of Black life Hollywood refused to show.

Many race films survive only in the BFCA collection. Without active preservation work, the history of early Black American cinema would be substantially lost. The archive's preservation efforts include restoring deteriorating film elements and digitizing analog materials to ensure long-term access.

Exhibitions and Public Programs

The BFCA hosts screenings, symposia, and educational events connecting its research mission to broader public audiences. In September 2025, the BFCA acquired the Michelle Materre Collection and celebrated with a visit from filmmaker Julie Dash, who returned to Indiana University for the first time since 2016. Dash, a member of the L.A. Rebellion group of 1970s UCLA film students, screened and discussed her work and Materre's influence on her career.

The exhibit "By Their Own Hands," presented by the BFCA and University Collections at McCalla, opened September 5, 2025, and runs through May 31, 2026. The exhibit highlights the legacy of the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame Foundation, founded in 1974. Curated with support from the IU Foundation's Black Philanthropy Circle, the exhibit includes scripts, letters, costume designs, the Nicholas Brothers' tap shoes, a script from Let's Do It Again signed by Sidney Poitier, and a wall of 42 handprints from celebrities inducted into the Hall of Fame. The BFCA also hosts recurring events including "First Wednesdays" featuring visiting scholars and "You (Probably) Haven't Seen This Before" screening series with the Indiana University Libraries Moving Image Archive.

Black Cinema Studies at IU

The BFCA publishes Black Camera: An International Film Journal, an academic journal covering all aspects of Black cinema globally. The journal provides a scholarly home for research that mainstream film studies has historically undervalued. The BFCA's involvement in campus events, publications, and curriculum centers Black cinema and media studies at Indiana University, connecting archival work to undergraduate and graduate education.

The BFCA is located at Wells Library 044, Indiana University Bloomington, 1320 E. 10th Street, Bloomington, IN 47405. Researchers can contact the archive at bfca@iu.edu to arrange access. Collection finding aids are available online through the IU Archives catalog.

What Filmmakers Should Know

For Black filmmakers seeking historical context for their work, the BFCA's collection provides access to the tradition of Black cinematic storytelling that precedes and informs contemporary practice. The race film era, the L.A. Rebellion, Blaxploitation, and independent Black cinema movements are all documented in the archive's holdings. Understanding this history grounds contemporary work in a lineage of Black creative achievement.

For scholars, educators, and programmers, the BFCA is the primary research infrastructure for the study of Black cinema. The archive's collections support dissertation research, film programming, curriculum development, and historical scholarship. The Michelle Materre Collection, opened in 2025, offers particular value for researchers studying independent Black film distribution and the infrastructure that supported Black filmmakers from the 1990s through the 2020s.

Filmmakers can donate materials to the BFCA, contributing to the preservation of Black cinema history. The archive actively acquires personal papers, production documents, screeners, and publicity materials from Black filmmakers and industry professionals. Contact the archive directly to discuss potential donations.

See Also

For contemporary advocacy for Black filmmakers in Hollywood, see the broader context of diversity advocacy organizations in this directory. For related preservation work in Southeast Asian cinema, see Asian Film Archive in this directory. For filmmakers budgeting independent projects that document Black history or culture, use the Indie Film Budget Calculator to estimate production costs and identify funding gaps.