Alan Kattelle embodies the award criteria for his substantial contributions and leadership to the field and in the area of amateur film.

From his nomination: “2005 will see the completion of the AMIA sponsored Alan Kattelle Oral History Project, the first of its kind in the organization’s history. Archivists and Board Members recognized his unparalleled knowledge of amateur film history, and saw the importance of making an in-depth record of Alan for future generations of moving image archivists. The project transcripts, audio, and video are a rich resource of amateur cinema history, and will be made available to archivists and researchers through AMIA, George Eastman House, and Northeast Historic Film. Surely the most active octogenarian member of AMIA, he serves as mentor and advisor to numerous archivists in the area of small gauge and amateur film. He has one of the largest private collections of amateur film equipment and literature in the world, and has published the definitive book on the subject: Home Movies: A History of the American Industry, 1897-1979. Alan has also published articles in the Journal of Film and Video, Film History, and AMIA Newsletter. He is a charter member and past president of the Photographic Historical Society of New England, co-founder of the Movie Machine Society, Advisory Board Member of Northeast Historic Film, and Advisory Board member of the Center for Home Movies. He was a panel member on Pixelvision and Polavision session at the 2002 AMIA conference, and has lectured at Northeast Historic Film’s Summer Film Symposium. Alan’s past and continued contributions to our field are invaluable, and we proudly nominate him for the Silver Light Award.”

Alan is someone has not only made significant contributions to the field, but also advised so many archivists working with amateur film. He continues to be active even to this day, as he was invited to speak on a Super 8 panel in Austin.

The Silver Light Award recognizes outstanding career achievement in moving image archiving. Measures of achievement may include substantial contributions to the field over an extended period, leadership in the field, work in professional societies or other professional activities, writings or publications, preservation and restoration projects, innovations that advance the cause of preservation, and patronage donated to archives or archival projects.

The Silver Light Award will be presented Saturday, December 3, 2005.