This article introduces several essays and shorter articles derived from talks given at the Sixth Orphan Film Symposium (Orphan 6) held at New York University in March 2008. It defines what is meant by the term "orphan film" in its legal and conceptual senses and notes how the term has emerged as the predominant metaphor for motion picture preservation in the US and elsewhere. It is likely to remain a binding concept denoting neglected cultural productions found on celluloid, magnetic or digital media and formats of the future. Since such an all-embracing scope can limit utility a focus has emerged on recordings as historical documents: "not-a-movie" films, artefacts not released theatrically - unfinished newsreels, outtakes, amateur works, test reels, unidentified footage, surveillance recordings. A list of some of the films screened at Orphan 6 indicates that historians are not seeing most of the films that exist to be studied. The thematic focus of Orphan 6 was the role of orphan films in recording, constructing and imagining the state, broadly conceived. (Quotes from original text)