The Collection of Manuscripts and Documents dates back to 1987. By the beginning of 2011, it comprised almost 12,000 basic items and 5,000 scientific and auxiliary items. The Collection also includes 154 archives selected and classified as individual collections. These archives were either donated by filmmakers, their relatives or friends or acquired by the museum from collectors. Approximately 30 archives are now being processed.

The list of collections includes the following: creative materials (prose, scripts, articles, lectures, memoirs, diaries, notebooks, various creative records); biographical materials (private documents, references, certificates, contracts, award documents); official and private correspondence; auxiliary materials for creative work; documents of famous people kept in private archives; archive creators' materials, and rare autographs.