Ruben/Bentson Moving Image Collection

Established in 1973 to further the appreciation and scholarly study of film, the Ruben/Bentson Moving Image Collection is a vital resource from which to explore the histories and creative possibilities of the moving image. Today, it continues to redefine the moving image by surveying how artists in the past and the present have executed their visions with the medium. Used by various audiences, the collection is a site of preservation, scholarship, research, exhibition, and community engagement. Works from the collection are regularly featured in cinema screenings and exhibitions in the galleries, and are always on view in the Bentson Mediatheque. The collection contains 16mm and 35mm films as well as analog and digital videos, ranging from short to feature-length works from the 1890s to the present. Not limited to any specific style of work, the collection includes animation, experimental cinema, early video art, family-friendly movies, contemporary artists’ moving image, independent cinema, and more.