The UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) Library has received a grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation (NFPF) to preserve and digitize Don’t Bank on Amerika (1970), a documentary capturing a pivotal moment in the history of student activism at UCSB and across the nation.
Filmed by cultural critic and film historian Peter Biskind while teaching at UCSB, Don’t Bank on Amerika chronicles the unrest among UCSB students during the height of Vietnam War protests, culminating in the burning of the Bank of America branch in Isla Vista in February 1970. Like the uprisings at Columbia, Berkeley, and Kent State, the Isla Vista protests were part of a national wave of student resistance to war, systemic inequality, and institutional authority.
Housed in the Library’s Department of Special Research Collections, the film is part of the Santa Barbara Local History Collections. These materials support teaching, research, and public engagement on topics ranging from environmental justice to student-led movements.
With this grant, the Library will work with a film preservation partner to carefully evaluate, clean, and digitize the original film elements using advanced ultrasonic cleaning and 4.5K scanning technology. The process also includes color correction, creation of digital preservation masters, and the production of new 16mm film internegatives and prints to ensure archival stability and continued accessibility.
Preserving Don’t Bank on Amerika ensures long-term access to an irreplaceable visual record of local and national significance, one that continues to inform critical reflection on protest, place, and political change.
NFPF’s 2025 grant program will support 81 films at 31 institutions across 14 states and the District of Columbia.
About the National Film Preservation Foundation
The National Film Preservation Foundation is the nonprofit organization created by the U.S. Congress to help save America's film heritage. It supports activities nationwide that preserve American films and improve film access for study, education, and exhibition. The NFPF preservation grants are made possible by funds authorized through The Library of Congress and have provided preservation support to cultural institutions in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico to save more than 2,937 films. Films saved through the NFPF programs are used in education and seen widely through screenings, exhibits, and streaming. A curated selection of the preserved films is available for viewing on the NFPF website, and more than 320 additional titles have been made accessible by our grant recipients.
