The Archive

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The Archive

Social, Cultural and Philosophical Narratives Repositioning of Archives

2018


Still from the The Archive by Peter Spence
J Edgar Hoover signature on a letter
Vintage photo of a young boy in a long coat - from the The Archive by Peter Spence
The phrase 'Communist causes' highlighted in a passage of typewriter text

Producer / Director: Peter Spence 

Script: Peter Spence 

Camera: David Drucker 

Editor: Noel Curry 

Compiled entirely from archive materials including a de-classified FBI file, The Archive tells the incredible story of David Drucker, a lawyer in 1940s America. Employed by the Soviet Union and communist China to broker trade deals with the west, his work quickly brought him to the attention of J. Edgar Hoover and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Always travelling with a Bolex 16mm camera, David captured stunning footage of newly post-revolution China, but FBI agents were never far behind, also documenting his every move.

Vintage photo of a young girl. She is half smiling and has pigtails. Close behind her is the wall of a clapboard house.
Vintage photo of a child in a field. The child is looking behind him or her. The photo is overexposed and looks like an amateur family photo.
Still from The Archive by Peter Spence
A man in a white suit on a city street. He is about to raise his hat with his right hand. The image looks old, and the border has markings that suggest it was developed from film, not taken digitally,
ADMRC logo. The letters A, D, M, R and C in a circle.

Key information

Explore the people, research centres and partner organisations behind this project.

Institutes and centres

Art, Design and Media Research Centre Culture and Creativity Research Institute

Get in touch

Contact the ADMRC to discuss facilities, partnerships, doctoral research and more

Email ADMRC

Research Team

Peter Spence SHU

Peter Spence

Senior Lecturer in Film and TV

Peter Spence's profile