Tom Jennings is the founder and Chief Creative Officer of 1895 Films and one of the most decorated documentary filmmakers working today. A Peabody and Emmy Award winner, Tom has written, produced and directed more than 500 hours of programming and pioneered a format that now spans 42 films: no narrator, no modern interviews, pure archive from start to finish. His work includes Diana: In Her Own Words, Apollo: Missions to the Moon and a Peabody winning film on the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In this episode Tom takes us through the full arc of his career, from print journalist covering the OJ Simpson trial to the moment he cut a ten minute proof of concept reel and snuck into the Television Critics Association to pitch it. He explains how that single meeting with National Geographic in 2009 launched a format the industry had resisted for fourteen years.

We go deep on what it actually takes to build an archive film: throwing a wide net, going through every single tape, and why the Christa McAuliffe rehearsal footage that won the Challenger Emmy was sitting on tape 39 of a 40 tape collection that most producers never finished. Tom talks about the seven hours of Diana tapes locked in a publisher's office in London, the funeral home phone call it took to clear a song, and why he steers clear of fair use.

He also speaks candidly about what AI can now do to historical voices, why it sits like a loaded gun on the table, and what that means for audiences who trust archive films to tell the truth.

An essential listen for documentary makers, archive producers, rights professionals, researchers and anyone who wants to understand how the most powerful non fiction storytelling gets made.

The Archive Room is produced by LOLA Clips. Find us on YouTube for the full video version, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts so you never miss an episode.

What does it take to build one of the world's great music archives from scratch? David Peck, founder and president of Reelin' In The Years Productions, has spent over three decades tracking down, preserving and licensing performance footage and interview material spanning more than a century of cultural history. In this episode, he takes us through the discovery of previously unknown Doors footage at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the painstaking process of onboarding the Merv Griffin and David Frost archives, his role as a historical fact checker on major documentary films including the Bee Gees and Stax stories, and why he believes real archive will always outlast AI generated content. He also makes the case for why the music archive business is as much about cultural stewardship as it is about commerce, and shares the ethical lines he will not cross when it comes to licensing.

Andrea Kalas is one of the leading figures in global film and media preservation. She currently serves as Vice President of Media and Archival Services at Iron Mountain, where she leads large-scale preservation, digitisation, and access projects for studios, museums, and cultural institutions worldwide.

Her career spans UCLA Film and Television Archive, the British Film Institute, Discovery Communications, Paramount Pictures, and DreamWorks. She has overseen the restoration and preservation of more than 2,000 titles — including The Godfather — and is a former President of AMIA, the Association of Moving Image Archivists.

In this episode, Andrea talks honestly about the challenges facing film and media archives today: the ticking clock on magnetic tape, why digitisation is not the finish line for moving image archiving, and why below-zero storage remains one of the most powerful tools preservationists have. She also explores what AI could genuinely unlock for archive access, the impact of federal funding cuts on cultural collections, and the restoration of Wings (1927) — from deteriorated nitrate film to a full sound presentation.

Plus the principle every archivist lives by: one copy is no copies.

The Archive Room is a podcast about archival footage, film restoration, media rights, and the people who dedicate their careers to keeping the world's film and television heritage alive. If you work in documentary filmmaking, moving image archiving, or the film and TV industry, this is the conversation for you. New episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and iHeartRadio.

What does it take to run one of Europe’s biggest movie archives?

In this episode, Dominic and Sandra welcome Massimo Moretti, the longtime archive commercial lead at STUDIOCANAL UK, home to over 6,000 titles — from the beloved Paddington films to historic gems like The Ladykillers and Conquest of Everest.

Massimo shares fascinating stories from his two decades in the industry, including the legacy of Ealing Studios, the challenges of digitisation, licensing rare rushes, and how AI could transform the future of archive access. He also breaks down how STUDIOCANAL manages rights across borders and explains why the 1960s remains the golden decade of the archive.

Whether you're an archive producer, film fan, or licensing professional — this episode is full of insight into the hidden machinery behind Europe’s cinematic treasures.

In this episode of The Archive Room, we sit down with the extraordinary Elizabeth Klinck — one of the most respected archive producers and researchers working today.

With decades of experience on award-winning documentaries (Apollo 11, Stories We Tell, The Rescue, Zappa), Elizabeth shares how she blends detective work, historical instinct, and deep industry knowledge to uncover footage gold — from lost Muhammad Ali reels to rare rockabilly clips in Sweden.

🕵️‍♀️ How archive research is like private investigation

📼 Tracking down forgotten footage across borders and formats🎶 A crash course in music rights and clearance

📁 Building a global archive network — and a professionThis is a masterclass for filmmakers, researchers, and anyone curious about how documentary magic is made behind the scenes.

🔔 Subscribe for more stories from the people who bring history to screen.

In this episode of The Archive Room, Dominic Dare and Sandra Coelho are joined by Berlin-based archive producer and researcher Mona El-Bira, whose work sits at the intersection of history, ethics, and archive-driven storytelling.

Mona takes us deep inside two of the most ambitious documentary projects of recent years. First, Riefenstahl (2024), a feature documentary built entirely from archival material, drawing on the vast and previously inaccessible estate of filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl. Mona walks us through the unprecedented process of organising, assessing, and ethically handling more than 700 boxes of documents, photographs, film reels, and audio recordings now held across multiple German state institutions — and how the archive itself shaped the narrative of the film.

The conversation then turns to The Six Billion Dollar Man, Eugene Jarecki’s documentary tracing the story of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. Mona discusses the realities of working with contemporary news archive at scale, navigating fair use, licensing global broadcasters, and dealing with material that is politically charged, legally complex, and often deeply distressing.

Along the way, Mona reflects on:

Coming to archive producing “sideways” from academia and art history

Why archives should drive the story — not the other way around

The emotional toll of working with war footage and traumatic material

Ethical responsibility in archive research and editorial decision-making

Rights, personality laws, and why Germany is uniquely complicated

Fair use: necessity, nightmare, or both

This is a thoughtful, candid conversation about the unseen labour behind archive-led documentaries — and what it really takes to turn history, power, and raw footage into responsible storytelling.

In The Archive Room Ep 4, we’re joined by Andy Gavaghan, Head of Archive & Content Library at ITV, to explore what it takes to manage one of the UK’s most significant media collections. From mislabelled film cans to 1.2 million tapes and 800 Rank films, Andy walks us through the technical, editorial, and commercial challenges of preserving British television history — including how ITV is digitizing thousands of tapes, embracing AI, and deciding what to keep… or junk.

🗂️ The true story behind “The Eagle Has Landed” archive

🎞️ Digitizing Love Island, Coronation Street & rare Rank films

💾 How ITV uses data, AI, and cloud storage to future-proof its archive

🌊 The Boxing Day flood that almost sank it all Whether you're an archivist, producer, or telly nostalgist — this is a rare look inside ITV’s vault.

🔔 Subscribe for more archive industry stories from The Archive Room.

Jo Griffin, Director of Digital and Restoration at Restore Studios (now part of UV&S), joins us in The Archive Room for a deep dive into the fascinating world of film and tape restoration. From scanning reels in a Kansas salt mine to reviving The Singing Detective in 4K, Jo shares behind-the-scenes insights into workflows, weird finds (yes, including a vintage condom in a can), and the ethical choices involved in preservation.

We explore:

How fragile formats are assessed, cleaned, and scanned

The real work behind "before and after" restorations

What it takes to keep decades-old media alive for future audiences

The growing conversation around open-source archival formats

Whether you're a footage pro or archive curious, this episode shines a light on the rarely-seen effort behind what you see on screen.

🎙️ The Archive Room — Jodi Tripi: From Clearance to Creative Powerhouse Stories behind the footage.

In this episode of The Archive Room, we sit down with Jodi Tripi, a top-tier archive producer whose career spans blockbusters (Catch Me If You Can, Elvis, The Eyes of Tammy Faye), biopics, and franchise films. Jodi shares the real work behind the reels — from wrangling footage rights and navigating legal grey zones, to collaborating with directors, VFX teams, and editors to shape iconic scenes.

🎧 What we talk about: – How she got her start on Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can –

The creative and legal puzzle of archival storytelling –

What “playback,” “full screen,” and “montage” footage really mean –

Managing expectations in Hollywood (and saying no without killing the vibe) –

The role of archival material in fiction vs. documentary –

User-generated content, social media clips, and the future of AI in archives

Whether it’s building a fake newsroom, finding the perfect riot shot, or cutting a news montage with audio and visuals in sync, Jodi brings unmatched precision, wit, and insight into the world of archival producing.

🎥 About Jodi: She’s worked on everything from Mission: Impossible to King Richard, and is currently on major studio projects with Spielberg, Ryan Reynolds, and Charlie XCX. Known for protecting both the image and the industry, Jodi is a master of the art and ethics of visual storytelling.

📌 Subscribe for more deep dives with the people who shape what we see on screen.

🎙️ The Archive Room is a podcast about the people, processes, and footage that bring film and television history to life.

In our very first episode of The Archive Room, we sit down with award-winning archive producer Stephen Slater (Apollo 11, Moonage Daydream) to explore how he brought real NASA mission footage and audio to life on screen.

Stephen shares:

How he sourced rare NASA footage and synced it with mission audio

The thrill of uncovering new moments from the Apollo archive

Why authenticity matters in recreating space history

And how it feels to contribute to the historical record itself

Audio-only version for podcast platforms that require MP3