Chicago Film Archives

CFA is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization dedicated to identifying, collecting, preserving and providing access to films that reflect Chicago and the Midwest region of the United States.

CFA safeguards its moving image collections through stabilization, digitization, and climate-controlled-storage.

CFA was established as a non-profit 501(c)(3) institution in late 2003 in order to preserve and catalogue over five thousand 16mm films donated by the Chicago Public Library.

Director Nancy Watrous and a few devoted film archivists then conceived a plan to create a regional film archive that preserves, promotes, and exhibits moving image materials that reflect Chicago and Midwest history and culture.

In May 2004, CFA moved to its permanent home at 329 West 18th Street in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago.