The Greek Film Archive ( el, Ταινιοθήκη της Ελλάδος, ''Tainiothiki tis Ellados'') is a nonprofit
film archive
An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located.
Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...
organization located in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
, whose goal is to produce and spread Greek and international films. It's a part of
International Federation of Film Archives
The International Federation of Film Archives (french: Fédération internationale des archives du film, FIAF) was founded in Paris in 1938 by the Cinémathèque Française, the Reichsfilmarchiv in Berlin, the British Film Institute and the Museum ...
and a founding member of the
European Film Gateway
The European Film Gateway (EFG) is a single access point to the digitized holdings of historical European film documents from numerous film archives and cinematheques, including over 600,000 individual objects from over 60 collections. The Europ ...
. It is also co-operating with the
Thessaloniki International Film Festival
The Thessaloniki International Film Festival (TIFF), organized by the cultural institution of the same name under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Culture, is held every November in Thessaloniki.TIFF features international competition secti ...
.
Located in the Lais theatre in
kerameikos
Kerameikos (, ) also known by its Latinized form Ceramicus, is an area of Athens, Greece, located to the northwest of the Acropolis, which includes an extensive area both within and outside the ancient city walls, on both sides of the Dipylon Ga ...
, it consists of four departments.
# Laboratories for the restoration, conservation and safekeeping of archival material
# Library
# Digital reading room
# Museum
History
The organization was founded in 1963, with the 105/1963 royal decree and is a successor to the Athens cinema club which was founded in 1950 from the Athens film critics union. The first president of the organization was
Aglaia Mitropoulou, who thanks to her friendship with the director of the
Cinémathèque Française
The Cinémathèque Française (), founded in 1936, is a French non-profit film organization that holds one of the largest archives of film documents and film-related objects in the world. Based in Paris's 12th arrondissement, the archive offers ...
Henri Langlois
Henri Langlois (; 13 November 1914 – 13 January 1977) was a French film archivist and cinephile. A pioneer of film preservation, Langlois was an influential figure in the history of cinema. His film screenings in Paris in the 1950s are often c ...
, managed to get ahold of many films.
On 4 December 2014, The Greek Film Archive was declared by the
Hellenic Parliament
The Hellenic Parliament ( el, Ελληνικό Κοινοβούλιο, Elliniko Kinovoulio; formally titled el, Βουλή των Ελλήνων, Voulí ton Ellínon, Boule (ancient Greece), Boule of the Greeks, Hellenes, label=none), also kno ...
, as an official body that reserves film heritage.
During the 37th Cinéma du réel, which took place in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, the Greek Film Archive was honored as the honorary film archive of the year.
Archives
The archive consists of more than 10.000 films, of which 600 are of Greek origin.
Purpose
* The collection of films of any kind, Greek or foreign, their classification, conservation, (restoration as required), safekeeping as well as their promotion through public screenings.
* The gathering and conservation of cinematographic documents (photographs, articles, books, screenplays, set models, newspapers, costumes, advertising material, programmes, and, in general, anything that has to do with the history of Cinema).
* Maintaining contact with similar foreign organizations and FIAF, as well as the development of cultural and artistic relations and the joint hosting of events.
* The organization of regular screenings, research into the technical and historical development of the cinema, and, finally, the creation of the Museum of Cinematography
See also
*
List of film archives
This is a list of film archives and cinematheques. Film archives collect, restore, investigate and conserve audiovisual content like films, documentaries, television programs and newsreel footage. Often, every country has its own film archive to ...
*
Cinema of Greece
The cinema of Greece has a long and rich history. Though hampered at times by war or political instability, the Greek film industry dominates the domestic market and has experienced international success. Characteristics of Greek cinema include ...
References
External links
*
Film archives in Europe
Archives in Greece
FIAF-affiliated institutions
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