Library Briefings

World of film

British Film Institute database features information on 120,000 films

Film Index International (Online), a major database of film literature and documentation, is now available on the Web through Northwestern University Library. The database, compiled by the British Film Institute, includes cast, crew, and production information on more than 120,000 films, as well as the contributions and biographies of 720,000 actors, directors, screenwriters, and others involved in the creation of the films.

Researchers at Northwestern already had access to a number of film databases, including subscription databases such as FIAF International Filmarchive Database and public databases like the Internet Movie Database (www.imbd.com). The strengths of Film Index International (Online) include its international scope (films from 170 countries are included), its accuracy, and linked references to articles held in the British Film Institute Library. For example, while both IMDB and Film Index International Online have records for Freedom (1957), the first feature film produced in Nigeria, the former includes minimal information while the latter includes the complete cast listing, and a list of articles about the film from Sight & Sound, Kinematograph Weekly, and Illustrierte Film-Bühne, as well as Variety and Hollywood Reporter.

The scope of the database extends from 1900 to the present. The earliest film, The Enchanted Drawing, is a silent black-and-white Edison production that depicts newspaper cartoonist J. Stuart Blackton performing a lighting sketch act. (This film is available from the Marjorie I. Mitchell Multimedia Center in a compilation of early films entitled
Origins of American Animation, 1900-1921, call number 791.4375 O695 1995 vhs). The database is easy to search and navigate and also includes searchable plot summaries and lists of awards and prizes.

To access the database, follow the link above or search for it by title in NUcat, or the Library’s Electronic Resources database. More resources for film studies can be found on the Library’s Radio, TV, Film subject page.

Scott W. Garton
Reference Librarian