In 2019, I was selected as the recipient for the Nancy Mysel Legacy Grant for film preservation from the Film Noir Foundation. It was an absolute honor to receive this award to continue my studies at the L. Jeffrey Selznick School for Film Preservation. You can learn more about Nancy Mysel’s work and the grant named for her at the Film Noir Foundation’s website.

For my application, I wrote an essay about my passion for film preservation:

I aim not just to restore films and movies in digital representations. My desire is to uphold the creativity and innovation of filmmakers. The clicks of the camera, the whir of the film, the hum of the projector bulb — this is the artistry of film. This is what will ensure its survival and what can be brought to the public in a palpable way. Projection in a cinema brings life to the film that is often lost in a digital form; appreciating the power of film is integral to understanding the importance of film restoration and preservation. Film’s impact on the cinematic experience is why I am proud to be the odd one out in my class.

As a thank-you to the Film Noir Foundation, I created a video that was screened at Noir City in February 2019. You can watch that video by clicking on this link.

Thanks to the support from the Film Noir Foundation, I am able to continue my studies at The L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation and finish my project on decaying acetate film affected by vinegar syndrome.