North Cook News

The Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University has received a Basic Preservation Grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation (NFPF) to restore and preserve four rare films by Kentucky animator Ed Counts. The $6,000 grant will be used to create new 16mm prints and digital access copies of these works, which have mostly remained unseen outside Kentucky until their recent rediscovery by Block Cinema.

Block Cinema, the museum’s film exhibition and research program, initiated this preservation project through its ongoing research. Originally established as a repertory screening series, Block Cinema now serves as a platform for scholarship and community dialogue in media arts. The program often collaborates with Northwestern faculty and students to highlight overlooked histories in cinema.

“This project reflects the heart of Block Cinema’s mission,” said Michael Metzger, Pick-Laudati Curator of Media Arts at The Block Museum. “Through deep research into neglected corners of film history, we’re not just preserving media—we’re surfacing stories and practices that expand how we understand the field of independent animation. Ed Counts’ work is a revelation: formally inventive, deeply personal, and uniquely shaped by an Appalachian regional identity.”

In 2024, Ben Creech, projectionist at Block Cinema, discovered Rockers (1990) in the archive of Picture Start, an animation distributor from the 1980s and early 1990s. This four-minute short was based on sketches of Counts’ wife and daughter and was included in the 2024 Eyeworks Festival of Experimental Animation.

“Finding Rockers was a moment of pure cinematic joy,” said Ben Creech. “The canister itself doesn’t tell you all that much about what’s inside, but once we brought it back to The Block, and put the film onscreen, it was clear that we had uncovered something incredibly unique. It has a potent blend of formal rigor and regional accent, which is rare among films from its time period, let alone Appalachia. I’m thrilled that these films will have a chance to be seen and appreciated by new audiences.”

Following this discovery, Katie Counts—Ed Counts’ daughter—donated what are believed to be the only surviving elements of her father’s work. Without commercial distribution or other known institutional holdings, the four films—Pas de Bleu (1986), Rockers (1990), Top This (1995), and Lullaby (1988)—may represent one of the few remaining records of an original voice in Appalachian film.

Counts’ films use various artistic approaches including line animation, painterly abstraction, and early computer-generated imagery. His works draw on everyday life for inspiration while offering perspectives rooted in Appalachian culture—a contrast to more urban-centered American experimental animation.

“The Block Museum is committed to making art accessible and relevant to our academic community and the broader public,” said Lisa Corrin, Ellen Philips Katz Executive Director. “This project perfectly illustrates how close attention, care, and collaboration can recover powerful artistic voices that might otherwise be lost. It also reflects the growing importance of Block Cinema as a site for discovery—where students and scholars work side by side to reshape the narratives of film history.”

Block Cinema will collaborate with Colorlab for both digital and photochemical preservation processes. The museum plans future screenings and programs featuring these restored films for students, faculty members, and local audiences.

The National Film Preservation Foundation operates as a nonprofit affiliate of the Library of Congress’s National Film Preservation Board; it supports preservation projects across all 50 states through grants like this one.