It’s not a great time to be a federal employee, and unfortunately, that includes our friends at the National Archives (Officially known as the National Archives and Records Administration, or NARA).
Those of us who work largely in documentaries, will inevitably end up using, or at the very least, searching the vast archives of, well, the archives.
So it was nice to discover that the good folks at the Archives got to make a short of their own. Although the official date of the film is unknown, and unfortunately due to the shutdown, there’s no one who can clarify it for us, the film appears in a collection of documents from 1985-1995.
Shot on what is most likely 16mm film, the silent black and white film, titled Blazing Pencils, follows the investigation of some foul play in the office, while also playfully referencing the amendment of something called Title 51. A quick google search shows Title 51, at least in the federal government pertains to “National and Commercial Space Programs,” so it’s not clear what Title 51 they are referring to here.
Look, I’m not sharing this film because it’s a cinematic masterpiece, but as a reminder that federal employees are people too, and sometimes they just want to have fun with a few rolls of 16mm film like the rest of us.
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