Barbara Scharres Collection

Preservation Sponsor
Barbara Scharres

Inclusive Dates
1968 – 1990
Abstract
Prints and other elements related to personal experimental films made by Chicago-based curator, lecturer, and writer Barbara Scharres. Materials in the collection include 16mm release prints, A&B-roll printing materials, and footage from unfinished projects.
Description

The collection consists of 16mm and Super 8 films made by Barbara Scharres.

 

Scharres shot her films with a 16mm Bolex camera and various Super 8 cameras using Kodachrome, Ektachrome, and Kodak Black and White stock. Most were made in or just outside of Chicago. Three works contain footage shot elsewhere: Northern Light (partially shot in Port Hope, Ontario), portions of Argyll (shot off the west coast of Scotland), and Super 8 footage shot in Staffordshire, England for an unfinished and unnamed project.

Some of Scharres's films were screened publicly, most notably at the 1972 Ann Arbor Film Festival (Self-Portrait), the 1974 Films by Women Festival at the Film Center at the School of the Art Institute, at Chicago Filmmakers, and at The Funnel in Toronto.

view More collection Details

Collection Items

Browse All Objects
Northern Light
Film
Northern Light
1977
Spaceship
Film
Spaceship
circa 1970 – 1971
Ann Arbor Ad
Film
Ann Arbor Ad
1969
Arrows
Film
Arrows
circa 1974
View More Items
Collection Identifier
C.2024-15
Extent of Collection
46 reels of 16mm film and magnetic audio, 11 reels of Super 8 film, and 1 reel of regular 8mm film.
Language Of Materials
English
Custodial History
Stored by Barbara Scharres in her home for approximately 30 or 40 years before arriving at CFA in 2024.
Use Restrictions
Chicago Film Archives holds the copyright for the films in this collection.
Creators
Scharres, Barbara (was created by)
Barbara Scharres was born in Port Hope, ON, Canada in 1947, and was raised in the Chicago suburb of Clarendon Hills. She first developed a serious interest in film through the college film society at St. Xavier University, Chicago, where she began making short personal films, encouraged and mentored by Prof. Tom Deegan. Her filmmaking work expanded while studying at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she received an MFA in 1972. A part-time job at Center Cinema Coop, the Midwest filmmakers’ distribution cooperative, led to networking with other local filmmakers. In 1965, Scharres began a full-time position at the Film Center at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, which led to a 45-year career as a curator, lecturer, and writer for an extensive range of film publications.