The independent filmmaking community is up in arms over the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences’ recent decision to gut its archive and library, with some calling the cutbacks “a huge step backwards” and “disastrous” as they put pressure on the Academy to reconsider its decision.
On Oct. 30, AMPAS laid off 16 employees, roughly 2% of its total workforce. They were from the Academy Film Archive, which is responsible for the preservation, restoration and documentation of motion pictures, and the Margaret Herrick Library, home to millions of pieces of film history, from books to photographs to concept art to Oscar facts and more.