A collection of 16mm film for the people

Dennis Nyback was a collector of film who built a 40-year career
of curation and exhibition in the Pacific Northwest. From the 1970s onward, he screened countless handmade shows out of the remarkable film archive that he had built. From Seattle to Paris, Dennis brought a personalized cinematic smorgasbord to the world.

He used to say “Give me a subject and I can put together a show.”

When Dennis passed away in 2022, his massive film collection – some 4000+ titles – fell into question. Hidden in rented garages, storage units and homes throughout the Portland area, it was at risk of being lost forever.

Thankfully, a group of Dennis’ friends and film colleagues banded together to save this priceless collection – with a goal to bring the films out of storage and back into the public eye. Over the first few months of 2023, the group of volunteers found where it had been stashed, dug through years of cinematic history and moved the collection into storage units. The goal was to review and catalog everything – and search for permanent home.