A trove of rusting film canisters from the former Soviet Union sits in a room in Amman, Jordan. Institutions have come and gone — individual researchers, too. Funding is elusive and resources sparse. After 15 years, the work to bring these films to light has persevered through the work of a small group of academics, activists, and artists who have become the stewards for this orphaned collection, creating an organic, leaderless network, rooted in the belief that sharing resources is the best way to achieve our goals, however different they may be. The team comprises Brynn Hatton (art history, Colgate University), Kay Dickinson (University of Glasgow), Matthew Epler (independent digital builder), Masha Salazkina (Concordia University) and Ala Younis (independent artist). This past June 2023, they were invited by Arsenal Institut für Film und Videokunst and the Goethe-Institut to present their work at Archival Assembly, a biannual festival in Berlin, Germany, that aims to reflect critically on the topic of cinematic heritage and transnational archive projects.
