CFA Receives Grant to Preserve 2 Films by Maurice Bailen

CFA is happy to announce that we have received a Preservation Grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation for the photochemical preservation of two films from the Maurice Bailen Collection, The City (ca. 1961) and Confrontation (ca. 1968). Both films are original 16mm work prints, and no other copies are known to exist. Maurice Bailen (1902-1980) was a Chicago-based filmmaker who is well-regarded and yet his filmic output is largely underrepresented; he remains most known for his film The Great Depression (ca. 1934), made with the Chicago chapter of the Workers Film and Photo League. Bailen’s films were devoted to capturing pivotal social movements in American history through a uniquely experimental aesthetic that was part documentary, part satire and political commentary. To learn more about his films, please visit our finding aid here.