Filmmakers, historians object to limits on Smithsonian archives

A group of more than 214 filmmakers, historians and students have objected to the Washington, D.C.-based Smithsonian Institution's deal with Showtime Networks. In a letter sent Monday to the well-respected public institution, they asked the Smithsonian to reverse a policy included in the deal that could limit access to the Smithsonian's archives and experts.

The Smithsonian announced a deal with Showtime last month requiring any commercial documentaries that rely heavily on Smithsonian collections to be offered first to a new cable television venture dubbed Smithsonian on Demand.

That would force all documentary makers to offer their work first to Showtime before it is offered to public broadcasters or other networks.

Filmmakers or producers who don't want to do business with the new network could find access to Smithsonian materials denied. The Smithsonian is a treasure trove of archival footage.

The deal is "anti-competitive," the group said in its letter to Secretary Lawrence M. Small, the Smithsonian's top official. It could also "discourage independent filmmakers from creating projects for other media outlets," the letter said.

The letter was sent to several congressional committees that oversee the $644 million US the Smithsonian gets from federal sources.

Among the 214 signatories are filmmakers Michael Moore, who created Fahrenheit 9/11 and Ken Burns, producer of the documentaries Baseball and The Civil War.

Burns decried the deal in an interview with the New York Times earlier this month, saying the Smithsonian has "essentially optioned America's attic to one company."

The group says it will use the U.S. Information Act to request details of the financial arrangement with Showtime, which the Smithsonian has refused to reveal, citing contract confidentiality.

Smithsonian officials said outlines of the agreement have been left deliberately vague to allow the institution to consider projects on a case-by-case basis.

The filmmakers said film projects are going to be halted by the policy and they aim to fight it.

"Closing off one of the most important collections of source materials and limiting access to staff will have a chilling effect on creativity, will create disincentives for digitization of the collections for access by all Americans, and violates the mission and purpose of the Smithsonian Institution," the letter said.