National Film Day Message.

ON TUESDAY, October 23, the Nation will observe the first annual National Film Day. No art form is more deeply rooted in America than the film; none has been more greatly enriched by the work of American artists.

Motion picture companies, theater owners and film makers across the country are holding this event to serve a twofold purpose--to call attention to the contribution the motion picture has made to America's cultural history and to provide support for the American Film Institute, the national organization that serves as custodian of our film heritage by preserving the Nation's film classics at the Library of Congress and by training the promising young film makers of tomorrow.

Over the years we have all shared in the beauty, the joy and the inspiration that have characterized American motion pictures at their best. I am sure that I speak for millions of Americans in paying tribute to this outstanding profession of the arts on the occasion of National Film Day.

RICHARD NIXON