The George Eastman Museum and the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) are proud to announce the public launch of Film Atlas, a new, freely accessible online resource documenting the history of film as a physical medium.
Now live to the general public for the first time at filmatlas.com, this encyclopedic platform brings together high-resolution visuals and newly commissioned essays by international experts to explore the formats, processes, and technologies that have shaped cinema from the 1890s to today.
Designed as both a scholarly tool and an accessible visual archive, Film Atlas invites users to explore over 1,000 images and 125 essays in its initial release. The resource is interactive, allowing readers to zoom in on detailed scans of film stocks, compare technologies side by side, and trace the evolution of moving image formats across geographies and decades.
“We are delighted to launch Film Atlas to the world after more than four years of hard work,” said James Layton, founder and editor of Film Atlas. “We are indebted to the countless professionals who have contributed to this project, from the hundreds of historians, archivists, and industry experts who have written definitive essays on each subject to the more than 50 film archives and museums around the world who have shared images from their collections, most of which have never been published before. This website is a result of this close and fruitful collaboration, and we trust it will quickly become an essential resource to many.”
When complete, Film Atlas will include documentation of over 650 film formats, soundtracks, and color and 3D processes, each accompanied by essays authored by more than 200 contributors from over 25 countries. The project is expected to continue growing over the next decade, with regular updates and newly added materials.
“This project would not have been made possible without the support and collaboration of the international film archival and academic community,” said Peter Bagrov, senior curator of the Eastman Museum’s Moving Image Department and President of FIAF. “While some of the formats are well-known to scholars and cinephiles worldwide, others are truly obscure and require pioneering research that could only be conducted on location. This is an ambitious project, and when completed, it promises to become an essential tool for film scholarship.”
The website’s homepage showcases rotating selections of entries and thematic essays by guest scholars, offering a curated view of the material available on Film Atlas. While searching the site, visitors can filter by format, color process, or sound technology, or simply click “surprise me” to discover something new and unexpected.
Film Atlas is a collaboration between FIAF and the George Eastman Museum, and supported by generous funding from the Louis B. Mayer Foundation, the George Eastman Museum Publishing Trust Endowment, and FIAF’s Eileen Bowser Memorial Fund.
To explore the database, visit filmatlas.com.
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