Dennis Nyback (July 30, 1953 – October 2, 2022) was an American independent film archivist, found footage filmmaker, historian and writer.
Nyback operated the Dennis Nyback Film Archive, which has over 13,000 short films, from 1895 onward, mostly in 16mm. It is located in Portland, Oregon. Working from his archive he created over 300 found footage film programs that he showed extensively in Europe, Great Britain, Scandinavia and the United States He was a guest at film festivals in: Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Norway, South Korea, Switzerland, the United States, and other countries. He owned and operated movie theaters in Seattle, New York and Portland, Oregon.
Every autumn since 2014 he gave a walking tour of the former movie palace and nickelodeon sites in downtown Portland as part of the Portland Film Festival.
Found footage film programs Dennis Nyback's most famous film program was "Bad Bugs Bunny: The Dark Side of Warner Bros. Animation" which he premiered at the Pike Street Cinema on January 15, 1993 for a three night run. He brought it back for a two-week run in March 1993.UW Reviewer, Read This: Subtitles Aren't Foreign to All, John Hartl, The Seattle Times, March 5, 1993. https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19930305/1688767/uw-reviewer-read-this-subtitles-arent-foreign-to-all retrieved February 13, 2015 He took the program to Europe in 1995 where he showed it in 15 cities. It showed in England in 1996 with a London showing being the inspiration for the book Reading the Rabbit.Sandler, Kevin (Editor) Reading the Rabbit: Explorations in Warner Bros. Animation, Rutgers University Press, USA, released 1998 It also showed in several cities in Australia in 1997 including a screening at the first Revelation Perth International Film Festival. He took it to Europe again in 2005 for screenings in 14 cities. In 2007, it was featured at the Hole in the Head Film Festival in San Francisco at the Roxy Theater where it sold out several shows. In 2009, it was featured at the KLIK Animation Festival, Amsterdam and sold out the Loft Cinema in Tucson, Arizona.
Some of his other programs that have played the United States and Europe are: "F&#k Mickey Mouse", "The Mormon Church Explains it All to You", "The Effect of Dada and Surrealism on Hollywood Movies of the 1930s", "Billie Holiday From First to Last", "Food: Is it for You?, Harlem in the Thirties", "I Know Why You're Afraid, Terrorism Light and Dark", and many others. For a jazz festival in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2000 he created ten feature length jazz film programs.
Film tours in Europe and film festival appearances Nyback first took films to Europe in March 1995 bringing the program "Bad Bugs Bunny" in 16mm and the feature film The Meatrack and She Devils on Wheels in 35mm. "Bad Bugs Bunny" was shown in: Amsterdam, Groningen, Eindhoven, Kortrijk, Den Haag, Nijmegen, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Osnabruck, Munich, Arhus, and Copenhagen.Film, De Volkskrant, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, April 7, 1995, retrieved February 25, 2015 It was also screened at the Interfilm Festival in Berlin, and the Underdog Animation Festival in Oslo.
In April 1996, he toured Europe screening "Sex, Jazz and War Cartoons" and "The Fabulous Animation of Ladislas Starevich". The programs were shown at the International Trick Film Festival in Stuttgart, and in: Munich, Nuremberg, Osnabruck, Amsterdam, Groningen, Nijmegen, Arhus, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Halle and Lille.Dennis the Menace, Levende Billeder: Danmarks Storste filmmagasin, #119 April 1996 pp. 34–37 The programs were also screened at the Interfilm Festival in Berlin in May.Program Guide pages 50–5113.internationales Kurzfilmfestival Berlin 15–19 Mai 1996 and "Sex, Jazz and War Cartoons" was screened at the Underdog Festival in Oslo.The 3rd Oslo Animation Festival Animerte Dager (Program) '96 25. – April 28
In November 1997, he was a guest at the KinoFilm Manchester Short Film Festival and he appeared at the Trickfilm Festival in Stuttgart in April 1998 where he showed "The Busby Berkeley Cartoon Show," "The Birth of Betty Boop: Or My Life as a Dog," and "F&#k Mickey Mouse"Plateau International Quarterly Bulletin On Animated Films, Schatten Uit Een Prive-Colletie, Luc Joris, Volume 19 NR.I – 1998 He remained in Europe showing the three programs in: Freiburg, Karlsruh, Munich, Hamburg, Paris, Bordeaux, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Goteborg and Viborg.Den Optimistiske Nihilist, Christian Monggaard Christensen, Information Lørdag-Søndag 2–3 Maj 1998 He was a guest at the Interfilm Festival in Berlin in December 1998.Kleiner Tod, Großer Tod, Kultur, Dertagesspiegel, Germany July 12, 1998 http://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/kleiner-tod-grosser-tod/67088.html retrieved February 15, 2015
In January 1999, Nyback was a guest at the International Film Festival, Reykjavik, Iceland, with a soft core sex program. In March 1999, the European tour featured the programs "The Effect of Dada and Surrealism" and "The Naughty to Nasty Sex Cartoon Extravaganza". The films were shown: in Munich, Freiburg, Nuremberg, Hamburg, Munster, Oslo, Bergen, Malmo, Arhus, Colmar, Bordeaux, Grenoble, and Paris.Bergen Filmklubb OG Cinemateket USF Varen 1999 page 37 Sex PA Film – The Dennis Nyback European Tour 1999Blindern Filmklubb Program Februar /1 1999 pages 46–47 Oslo, Norwary The film shows in Paris were on the Batofar, a former fire boat converted into a night club, moored on the Seine at 11 quai F.Mauriac Paris 13 ° – M: National Library / Wharf Station. He appeared at the Minimalen Festival, Trondheim, Norway, in March with the program "The Effect of Dada and Surrealism on Hollywood Movies of the 1930s". In July he appeared at the All Night Experimental Film Festival, The First World, New York City, with films made by the Mormon Church.
In 2000, he was a juror at the KinoFilm Manchester Short Film Festival in October and November and presented three programs: "Black Experience USA the 1960s", "Black Jazz and Dance" and "The Blaxploitation Cartoon Special".Kinofilm 2000, Festival Guide, pages 18 and 30, Manchester, England 2000
Nyback took films to Europe in spring 2001 ("The Truth About the Disco Decade", "Kill a Commie for Christ") with showings in: Leuven, Osnabruck, Kiel, Copenhagen, Leipzig, Cologne, Groningen, Kortrijk, Munich, and Nuremberg. He was a member of the jury for the 17th Interfilm Festival in Berlin in November 2001 and he also showed "The Truth About the Disco Decade."
In 2002, the programs for Europe were "Smoking, Drinking and Sex" and "Cartoons Not Intended for Laughs" with screenings in: Cologne, Bamberg, Nuremberg, Leipzig, Arhus, Kiel, and Stuttgart in April and May. He was a guest at the Exground Filmfest, Wiesbaden, Germany, in November.
Nyback was commissioned by Johannes Schönherr to create "The Open Road: The Myth and Reality of the American Dream" for Europe in 2003. It was shown in: Kortrijk, Belgium; Osnabruck, Nuremberg, Leipzig, Cologne (Germany) and, Copenhagen and Arhus (Denmark). "The Open Road" was also selected by the PiFan 2003 festival (The 7th Puchon International Film Festival) in Korea and was screened by Nyback in July 2003. At PiFan he also screened "The Blaxploitation Cartoon Special" and "Hillbillies in Hollywood."Pifan 2003 The 7th Puchon International Film Festival 7.10- 7.19 Program Dennis Nyback presents vintage American slices of myth and reality, pages 196–208
The films screened in Europe in 2004 were: "Europe Through American Eyes," "Cartoons Too Violent for Children," and "The Funny Funny Forgotten Men." The screenings in France were in: Bordeaux, Montpelier, Portiers, and Saint Etienne. In Germany they were shown in: Bordersholm, Cologne, Kiel, and Nuremberg. There were also screenings in Arhus and Oslo. During that same tour, he was a guest at Cherry Blossom Festival Japanische in Hamburg presenting a program of WWII anti-Japanese War Cartoons.
He was a juror at the KLIK Animation Festival, Amsterdam, Netherlands, in September 2009.
In March 2011, he was a guest at the Tampere Film Festival, Tampere, Finland, screening "Good Intentions" "The Effect of Dada and Surrealism on Hollywood Movies of the 1930s" "The Age of Oil" and "Kill a Commie for Christ.".Tampere Film Festival March 9 to 13, 2011 Programme Catalogue ohjelmarlkirja, pages 168–173, 2011 He was also a guest at the Winterthur Short Film Festival, Switzerland, 11/7–11/11 2013.Press release kurzfilmtage.ch 2013 Additional screenings were held in: Copenhagen, Kiel, Lausanne, Bern, Hamburg, and Freiberg and in England in: Manchester, Lancashire, and Bolton.
In November 2013, Nyback was a guest at the Winterthur Film Festival in Zurich, Switzerland where his film "Goodbye Mommie (I'm Off to Kill a Commie)" was screened.17.K. Das is der offizielle Katalog der 17. Internationalalen Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, 5.-10. November 2013 There were also screenings in Bern, Brussels, Copenhagen, Kiel, and Nuremberg.
Rose Bud Movie Palace Nyback purchased the Rose Bud Movie Palace in Seattle in 1979. The Rosebud was dedicated to showing films from Hollywood's Golden Age. Part of that mandate included showing newsreels, cartoons and short subjects before feature films. It was then that he began purchasing short films to precede the features. The Rosebud Movie Palace closed on August 31, 1981. During the last month, one and two night runs of classic films were screened under the heading of "The Greatest Movies Never Shown" including silent films: The Black Pirate (1926), Blood and Sand (1992) Kriemhild's Revenge (1924), The Cat and the Canary (1927), Hearts of the World (1918), The Joyless Street (1925), and The Marriage Circle (1924). The last film was Sullivan's Travels (1941) on August 29–30.Theater Recesses With the Greatest, Diane Simmons, The Seattle Post Intelligencer, July 14, 1981
Jewel Box Theater
In 1990, a selection of Scopitones was screened at the Jewel Box theater in Seattle by Dennis Nyback.