Film is the medium upon which our cultural history was captured for over 100 years. It was integral to the cinematic experience, played a unique role in the sale of British television programmes to the world and, in its portable (8mm) Cine format, allowed the post-war generations to record the changing face of Britain.

Because of its characteristics, and the role it played within British society, film spawned an army of enthusiasts. These people gathered in groups across the country, held specialist shows, and collected copies of their favourite feature films and television episodes. Thus, private film collecting was born as a hobby.

In recent years, the number of private film collectors has reduced. So dramatic has the decline been that many collections held privately in the U.K. are now considered vulnerable. If these film collections are lost, a unique record of our shared cultural heritage may disappear. No organisation is addressing this.

The current situation has compelled a team of film enthusiasts, and individuals from within the film and television industry, to act under the banner ‘Film is Fabulous!’, in collaboration with film historians at De Montfort University (DMU), and the official film archives. The primary aim is:

• To advance and to encourage public interest, education and training in film as a medium, especially its role within British culture.

The Film is Fabulous! team will pursue this stated objective by:

• Supporting private film collectors and the U.K.’s film collecting community, by providing advice, guidance, and practical assistance.

• Promoting the cataloguing of private film collections (with the requisite permissions), and fulfilling the wishes of collectors and their estates.

• Identifying and researching missing, rare and important films, and collaborating with the relevant agencies for their preservation.

• Championing the need for recovered films to be screened widely, with affordable licensing agreements through the copyright holders.

• Documenting, through an extensive programme of interviews, the history of film collecting and its cultural impact within Britain.
• Film is Fabulous! are a charitable trust, established through a deed of trust, and have applied to the Charity Commission to become a registered charity.