See you in 2026

Hello dear readers,

This is typically the point in the year where the Library of Congress announces its 25 newest inductees to the National Film Registry and I take a closer look at which movies I’ll be forcing myself to watch over the next few years. Unfortunately, in keeping with how the rest of 2025 has gone, things are a bit different this year.

It was revealed last week at the annual Associate of Moving Image Archivist conference (AMIA 2025) that the next NFR announcement has been delayed until late January 2026 due to the ongoing impact of the federal government shutdown. While I find this very disappointing, at least it’s a confirmation that there will in fact be an NFR announcement, and we all just have to wait a little longer.

So what does that mean for The Horse’s Head? Last week’s “Purple Rain” post was always meant to be my final regular post of the year, and I’ll be taking my usual time off for the holidays. The Horse’s Head will return in January, but in lieu of the Class of 2025 I’ll be posting some write-ups that are already “in the can” (including one of the NFR’s most elusive titles). Once the Class of 2025/2026 is announced, I’ll start adding these new movies into the rotation. So…business as usual I guess.

That all being said, this is my last update to the blog for 2025, so I will take this time to thank all of you for making this hands-down the most successful year in The Horse’s Head’s nine year history. I still think of this blog as something I write just to entertain myself, so seeing other people discover and share my work is an honor I don’t take for granted. Very special thanks to the Knights of the NFR: finders of obscure films and authors of the never-ending email thread. Always a pleasure seeing that new message in my inbox.

One more thing before I go: As some of you may know, the National Film Preservation Act (the laws that make the NFR happen) is currently set to expire at the end of FY26. While it has always been renewed in years past, I don’t need to remind you that we are living in very different times. I’m choosing to stay optimistic, but as a precaution please consider reaching out to your local member of Congress to make sure they help continue this nearly 40 year tradition of honoring significant American films. I know it’s not the most important item on anyone’s list, but whenever art of any kind is celebrated, everyone wins. Fingers crossed we’ll be gathered here this time next year to talk about the Class of 2026, with many more to come.