The legacy of actor/director/producer Philip Seymour Hoffman is a  point of pride for those in his hometown, who will soon be able to enjoy a memorial erected in  his honor at George Eastman Museum, outdoors near the Dryden Theatre. On Saturday, May 28,  a bronze life-size sculpture will be unveiled that depicts Hoffman appearing to be walking  toward the movie theater.  

The George Eastman Museum will present the 6th Nitrate Picture Show from June 2 to 5, 2022, at the Dryden Theatre in Rochester, NY. The Nitrate Picture Show, the world’s only festival of film conservation, returns after a two-year hiatus for the sixth edition with a new lineup of nitrate prints on screen, the Nitrate Touch workshop, and two concerts on Thursday, June 2: the first on the George Eastman’s grand piano and the second on the Eastman’s Aeolian pipe organ.

The George Eastman Museum announced that its recent restoration of Murder in Harlem (1935), a rare film directed by Oscar Micheaux (1884–1951), has been selected to be screened in the Cannes Classic series at the 74th Annual Cannes Film Festival (Festival de Cannes) in France. The festival will be held from Tuesday, July 6, through Saturday, July 17, 2021. The Eastman Museum collaborated with the Cineteca di Bologna, in Italy, to preserve the film.

This summer, the George Eastman Museum will present two free film series in solidarity with Black Americans and Asian/Pacific Islander Americans: Spotlighting Black Film Artists and Celebrating Asian/Pacific American Directors. All are invited to attend the screenings at the Dryden Theatre.

India Heritage Museum will present a new visual arts exhibition, Indian Cinema: A Rochester Connection, beginning Saturday, May 8, and running through Sunday, June 13. This free exhibition includes contemporary Indian film posters provided by the George Eastman Museum and can be viewed at the Vinod and Vinay Luthra India Heritage Center at 2171 Monroe Wayne County Line Road, Macedon, 14502. The exhibit can be visited on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. 

The George Eastman Museum has been providing artists, educators, and enthusiasts ways to explore photographic and moving image processes for decades through its on-site Process Workshops. From how to make a tintype to turning digital negatives into prints, these in-person workshops drew people from around the world to learn from the museum’s experts. This year, the Eastman Museum is offering new ways to experience its workshops from wherever you are located.

The George Eastman Museum has recently received a donation of 20 reels, from 12 identified titles, of rare 35mm nitrate and diacetate film prints from historian John Goodman of Scottsbluff, Nebraska.

The Dryden Theatre presents a series of five films by Oscar® winner Hayao Miyazaki, who is not only one of the most respected animation directors in Japan but also a critically acclaimed leader of animation filmmaking worldwide.

"George Eastman House is a leader in film and photography preservation,” said Scorsese. “I’ve worked closely with them for a long time now, and they’ve always impressed me with their knowledge and passion.” 

You are invited to celebrate home movies in Rochester on Saturday, Oct. 20, as part of the 10th annualInternational Home Movie Day, which takes place simultaneously in cities around the globe. The Rochester celebration will be Noon to 4 p.m. at University of Rochester River Campus in collaboration with George Eastman House and the L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation. The event, which is free and open to the public, is a worldwide celebration of home movies and amateur films that provides the opportunity for communities to see and share home movies, and learn how best to store and properly care for them. Staff and students also will share information as to how and where to have your films and tapes transferred, so you can watch obsolete formats, once again, at home.

In the spirit of George Eastman’s philanthropic legacy, the George Eastman House Photo Finish 5K presented by MVP Health Care returns to the streets for its second year on Saturday, Oct. 6, to raise funds for more than 50 non-profit causes. This “philanthropy challenge” is a new way of fundraising, allowing dozens of organizations to raise funds via a single event, and Rochester has embraced it. Last year, more than 1,000 runners and walkers registered, ranging in age from 4 to 82, raising more than $300,000.

Ten of the most significant photographers of a dynamic era are featured in an exhibition at George Eastman House that examines a time defined by classical modernism and by experimentation, conflict, and social revolution. 60 from the 60s, on display Oct. 6 through Jan. 27, 2013, features works exclusively from the Eastman House collections that were produced in a decade that saw many new photography styles emerge — collage, street photography, and photojournalism.

George Eastman House’s “Wish You Were Here” travel photography lecture series is back this fall, featuring renowned photographers sharing images and stories. The featured four artists will share with us locations of North American birds, Cuban rural life, an Australian amusement park, and America’s last traveling side show.

The Dryden Theatre at George Eastman House pays tribute to singer/actor “ole blue eyes,” Frank Sinatra, in a four-film series screening in September. The selection of films highlights some of Sinatra’s greatest dramatic performances

The Artist’s massive commercial success may have brought silent film into prominence again, but at Eastman House, it has always been one of the cornerstones of Dryden Theatre programs. Experience the original art this fall, September to December, as the Dryden Theatre presents a series of silents in collaboration with the University of Rochester, titled “Silent Tuesdays.” Featured will be the expressive talents of stars like Gloria Swanson, Douglas Fairbanks, and John Gilbert and the artistic mastery of directors such as Cecil B. DeMille, D. W. Griffith, and King Vidor.

George Eastman House is collecting portraits of “The Hands That Make Rochester,” created by internationally renowned photographer Gary Schneider. This fundraising project for the museum is focused on capturing 25 images of the hands of people shaping today’s Rochester. Participants to date include Mark Cuddy, Dave Fiedler, Jody Gage, Dan Meyers, Jeff Tyzik, and Abby Wambach, the Olympic Gold medalist and celebrated soccer player.

George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film presents this summer a gallery of photographs that demonstrate their persistence as cultural artifacts and a vehicle for memory and meaning. Ideas in Things will be on view June 30 through Oct. 21, 2012. Following its debut in Europe, these photographs return home to Eastman House, including works by Julia Margaret Cameron, Frederick H. Evans, Lucas Samaras, and Clarissa T. Sligh, and Edward Steichen.

George Eastman House will host in its gardens this summer an edition of five bronze memorial sculptures by artist Todd McGrain July 3-Sept, 2012, and screen on July 28 and 29 the regional premiere of the documentary film about his efforts to memorialize five extinct birds. McGrain’s Lost Bird Project focuses on five North American Birds driven to extinction in modern times: the Carolina Parakeet, the Heath Hen, the Great Auk, the Labrador Duck, and the Passenger Pigeon. Each species is represented in a sculpture as high as 6-feet tall that weighs between 400 and 700 lbs.

When Kodak announced in 2009 it would no longer produce Kodachrome film, company officials announced two ways the famed film would be celebrated: 1) National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry would be given the last roll off the Kodak production line and 2) the images from that historic roll would be donated to the archives at George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film. McCurry today donated photographs from that final role to George Eastman House during a press conference in the museum.

George Eastman House is offering sign-language museum tours, focused on George Eastman and his historic home, to serve visitors who are deaf and hard-of-hearing, including visitors from Rochester — which has one the largest deaf populations in the country. Volunteer docent Robert Menchel is conducting these tours on select Saturday mornings.

The Garden Vibes summer concert series at George Eastman House is celebrating its 19th year, rocking out with live music on four Thursdays in July and August. Picnic on the Eastman House lawn, relax with friends, and enjoy family-fun activities, while at the same time basking in George Eastman’s historic Townson Terrace garden and surrounding grounds. Concerts are 6 to 8 p.m.

George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film announces the launch of a one-year certificate program in Photographic Preservation and Collections Management, an intensive eight-month, graduate-level immersion program for professionals, students, and independent scholars. This comprehensive combination of practical and classroom experience will be based in the unparalleled collections of Eastman House, the world’s oldest museum of photography. The program begins in September 2012.

Dabney Coleman, veteran actor of television and movies, will appear in person at the Dryden Theatre at George Eastman House at 8 p.m. Friday, May 25, to present what is perhaps his best-known movie, Nine to Five. Coleman will introduce the film and engage in an audience Q&A after the screening.

Ten renowned photographers from Magnum Photos are visiting Rochester from April 14 through 29 for a comprehensive photographic survey of the city and its people. The participating artists in the House of Pictures project are Bruce Gilden, Jim Goldberg, Susan Meiselas, Martin Parr, Paolo Pellegrin, Alessandra Sanguinetti, Alec Soth, Larry Towell, Alex Webb, and Donovan Wylie. They will explore multiple facets of Rochester covering subjects from gangs to gardens, youth and weddings to aging strippers, as well as George Eastman House.

Ten renowned photographers from Magnum Photos are visiting Rochester from April 14 through 29 for a comprehensive photographic survey of the city and its people. The participating artists in the House of Pictures project are Bruce Gilden, Jim Goldberg, Susan Meiselas, Martin Parr, Paolo Pellegrin, Alessandra Sanguinetti, Alec Soth, Larry Towell, Alex Webb, and Donovan Wylie. They will explore multiple facets of Rochester covering subjects from gangs to gardens, youth and weddings to aging strippers, as well as George Eastman House.

Experience rarely seen and lesser-known photographs by the masters at George Eastman House with the exhibition See: Untold Stories, on view now through Sept. 16, 2012. In response to visitors who have long asked to see more of the museum’s unparalleled collection – and as with most museums, the galleries can only showcase the tip of the iceberg – Eastman House has assembled a wide survey of photography from the earliest efforts in the 19th century to the most recent techniques and aesthetics.

The historic gardens of George Eastman House open for the season on Tuesday, May 1, and will remain open through September. Here are some ways to enjoy the gardens this season.

The work of French filmmaker Robert Bresson, one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time, will be showcased at the Dryden Theatre at George Eastman House as part of a two-month series. Although a challenge to gather together prints of his films, the Dryden will present a selection of the master’s films every Tuesday evening throughout March and April.

George Eastman House International Museum of Photography & Film has released a new book on its camera technology collection titled 500 Cameras: 170 Years of Photographic Innovation (Sterling Innovation, 2011, 472 pp., $26.95). There are few objects or inventions in history that have had as long and diverse history as the camera, according to author Todd Gustavson. Rave reviews thus far are describing the book as ideal for amateur photographs as well as serious camera collectors.