The Harry Mantel Collection came to CFA via the University of Chicago and consists primarily of production elements (camera originals, outtakes and numerous magnetic & optical soundtracks) made by Chicago cameraman, producer, and journalist, Harry Mantel (1923-2007). The few distribution prints in the collection are part of a series titled "Harry Mantel's Vignettes," which were produced and directed by Mantel thanks to a grant from Encyclopedia Britannica. The series primarily includes brief portraits he constructed of the city of Chicago and its people as well as subjects and scenes shot in Iowa, Wisconsin and Ireland. Some of the many subjects Mantel explores in his Vignettes include a waitress at a former Marina City Towers restaurant, O'Hare air traffic controllers, the various manifestations of fire, Iowa square dancing, circus & zoo animals, leaves & trees, Irish culture and a suburban arts and crafts fair replete with many a macrame booth.

This collection includes ethnographic films produced or shot by the pioneering visual anthropologist, Paul Hockings. It covers films shot by Hockings as part of his reasearch on the Badaga people in the Nilgiris Hills in India; THE VILLAGE shot in western Ireland, on which Hockings was the consulting anthropologist; and work created under his mentorship at the University of Illinois at Chicago including Susan Stechnij's examination of a Mexican immigrant family, MI RAZA: PORTRAIT OF A FAMILY.

The Robert & Theresa Davis collection primarily consists of travelogue films created by the Illinois-based husband and wife duo, Robert & Theresa Davis. Places that are filmed include: Australia, Belgium, Cyprus, Iceland, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Thailand, Tunisia, Sicily and Yugoslavia. The collection also contains a few amateur short films and musical productions as well as a handful of educational films. Additionally, the collection contains extensive papers and ephemera, including scrapbooks, photos, maps and diaries that describe the Davis' career as filmmakers, lecturers and tour guides.