Each year the Librarian of Congress picks 25 American-made films to be added to the National Film Registry. While the final decision is that of Dr. Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress—with some considered input from the Library’s National Film Preservation Board—the public is invited to offer their nominations. And they’re accepting your submissions now.
The criteria for entries: Films must be American made, at least ten years old, and at least one copy must exist somewhere. The films should also be aesthetically, culturally, or historically important.
You can nominate films of any genre: Comedy, silent, dramas, documentaries, experimental, westerns, musical, horror, sci-fi, or animation. This year, the deadline for your nominations is August 15.
While you are allowed to nominate multiple titles, I suggested just one film for inclusion in the Registry this year: The Diary of Anne Frank. It’s a film that paints an intimate picture of life and attempts to survive during the Holocaust.
The film was released in 1959, and today seems more relevant than ever. This past March, The New York Times reported, “The number of antisemitic incidents in the United States [in 2022] was the highest since the Anti-Defamation League began keeping track in 1979.”
The Diary of Anne Frank is the story of a valiant attempt to hide from Nazis during the Holocaust. The screenplay was written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett and is based on their script for a stage play that opened at the Cort Theatre on Broadway in 1955. Their stage adaptation was based on the posthumously published diary of Anne Frank, who died in the Nazi’s Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945. Her diary has been translated into more than 70 languages.
Here’s a four-minute video introduction to Anne Frank from the non-profit Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. The organization was established in 1957 in cooperation with Otto Frank, Anne Frank’s father. They are an independent non-profit organization that runs a museum in the house where Anne Frank went into hiding.
Let your voice be heard. Nominate films you believe are worthy of inclusion in The National Registry. Here’s a link to where and how to get started: The Library of Congress.
By the way, I have a special attachment to Anne Frank’s story.
