North West Film Archive

The collection

Selected films

Contact and access

• The Archive
• Access
• Projects
• Partnerships
• Publications

Access and Facilities:

The educational potential of the collection is widely recognised, ranging from primary school learning to teaching and research in Britain's universities and the archive aims to support academic teaching and research across a wide range of disciplines.

• Catalogue – All of the archive's stored material is documented to at least collection level, with 4,600 individual titles fully catalogued to FIAF standard.
• Searching - Items from the archive's collection can be searched using the online catalogue: www.nwfa.mmu.ac.uk. Users may also make their enquiry via the website at www.nwfa.mmu.ac.uk/contact.htm using an online enquiries form, or by telephone. The archive can work with researchers to help them extend or refine their search after an initial investigation of the online catalogue.
• Viewing - The archive has film and video viewing facilities on its premises which can be booked in advance. The archive can also loan VHS viewing tapes of requested material for users to view in their own home. A notice period of three weeks is usually required to secure the availability of material. A sample of 25 clips of moving image material from the archive's collection can be viewed online at www.media.mmu.ac.uk/nwfa25
  The archive also has moving image material on display in various museums, galleries and libraries around the region including at the People's History Museum in Manchester, and the Macclesfield Silk Museum as well as other national and subject specific museums around the country.
• Charges - Manchester Metropolitan University staff and students benefit from priority access services including free reference, viewing and video loans. These free services are also extended to students at the Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology (University of Manchester) and University of Salford's MA Documentary & Features Production (up to 3 titles maximum). Media production students at other North West higher education institutions can also benefit from these services at no charge if shooting original contemporary North West footage of interest to the NWFA. The NWFA provides free viewing and loan services to paid or post-graduate level researchers from any UK university. Modest service charges may apply to other higher education users - please call to discuss your needs.