The International Federation of Film Archives (french: Fédération internationale des archives du film, FIAF) was founded in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

in 1938 by 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 ...

, the Reichsfilmarchiv in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

and the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. FIAF brings together the world's leading institutions in the field of moving picture heritage. Its affiliates describe themselves as "the defenders of the twentieth century's own art form". They are dedicated to the rescue, collection, preservation and screening of moving images, which are valued both as works of art and culture and as historical documents. As of April 2021, it comprises 171 institutions in 79 countries - a reflection of the extent to which preservation of moving image heritage has become a world-wide concern.

Aims

* to uphold a code of ethics for film preservation and practical standards for all areas of film archive work * to promote the creation of moving image archives in countries which lack them * to seek the improvement of the legal context within which film archives carry out their work * to promote film culture and facilitate historical research on both a national and international level * to foster training and expertise in preservation and other archive techniques * to ensure the permanent availability of material from the collections for study and research by the wider community * to encourage the collection and preservation of documents and materials relating to the cinema * to develop cooperation between members and "to ensure the international availability of films and documents".

Affiliates

FIAF's members are archives that are actively engaged in the activities and fully committed to the ideals described earlier. Current members reflect a wide range of non-profit institutions, including government archives, independent foundations and trusts, self-contained cinematheques, and museum or university departments. FIAF's Associates are non-profit institutions that support the goals of the Federation but are not involved in film preservation per se. In this way, FIAF is joined by moving image museums, videotheques, documentation centres, and so on.

Activities

Much of the work of FIAF takes the form of active cooperation between members on projects of mutual benefit or interest - for example, the careful restoration of a particular film, or the compilation of a national or international filmography. The more visible activities include the annual congress, publications and the work of the specialist commissions. The Annual Congress FIAF meets every year in a different country. The Congress combines a General Assembly at which the formal business of the Federation is transacted with a programme of symposia and workshops on technical or legal aspects of film archive work and on aspects of film history and culture. The final congress of Fiaf was held in Budapest on 24-29 April 2022. The Specialized Commissions The Commissions are groups of individual experts from affiliated archives who meet regularly to pursue work programmes that promote and assist in the development and maintenance of standards at both the theoretical and the practical level. The three FIAF Commissions are the Cataloguing and Documentation Commission, the Technical Commission, and the Programming and Access to Collections Commission.

Publications

FIAF publishes the ''

Journal of Film Preservation The ''Journal of Film Preservation'' (''JFP'') is a journal published twice a year by FIAF, the International Federation of Film Archives. History and profile The journal was founded in 1972. It was published under the title of ''FIAF Informati ...

'' twice a year. A special office compiles and publishes the International Index to Film Periodicals and the FIAF International FilmArchive Database. Publications also include an annual bibliography of members' publications, the proceedings of symposia or workshops, the results of surveys and reports, manuals and discussion papers prepared by the specialist Commissions and the results of other FIAF projects.
''Journal of Film Preservation''

Relations with international organisations

FIAF has always had an active international profile. It was closely involved in the preparatory work for the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Recommendation for the Safeguarding and Preservation of Moving Images, approved in Belgrade in 1980. In pursuit of the goals of the Recommendation, the Federation facilitates contacts between developing archives and older archives to make sure that experience is passed on. The Federation is a member of the Coordinating Council of Audiovisual Archives Associations (CCAAA).

Education

Training of archive personnel takes place at FIAF Summer Schools and Technical Symposia that have been held several times in various countries. Their aim is to introduce participants to the necessary skills of preservation, cataloguing, documentation and even administration.

FIAF Award

The FIAF Award celebrates a personality – external to the FIAF archival community – whose experience in the field of cinema underlines the objectives and goals of the Federation.About the FIAF Award
The FIAF Award was created in 2001, and has since then been presented to the following personalities: *

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, inclu ...

(2001) * Manoel de Oliveira (2002) * Ingmar Bergman (2003) *

Geraldine Chaplin Geraldine Leigh Chaplin (born July 31, 1944) is an American actress. She is the daughter of Charlie Chaplin, the first of eight children with his fourth wife, Oona O'Neill. After beginnings in dance and modeling, she turned her attention to act ...

(2004) *

Mike Leigh Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English film and theatre director, screenwriter and playwright. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and further at the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Design ...

(2005) *

Hou Hsiao-hsien Hou Hsiao-hsien (; born 8 April 1947) is a Mainland Chinese-born Taiwanese film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He is a leading figure in world cinema and in Taiwan's New Wave cinema movement. He won the Golden Lion at the Venice ...

(2006) *

Peter Bogdanovich Peter Bogdanovich (July 30, 1939 – January 6, 2022) was an American director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian. One of the " New Hollywood" directors, Bogdanovich started as a film journalist until he was hired to work on ...

(2007) *

Nelson Pereira dos Santos Nelson Pereira dos Santos (22 October 1928 21 April 2018) was a Brazilian film director. He directed films such as '' Vidas Secas'' (Barren Lives), based on the book with the same name by Brazilian writer Graciliano Ramos. Biography Pereira d ...

(2008) *

Rithy Panh Rithy Panh ( km, ប៉ាន់ រិទ្ធី; born April 18, 1964) is a Cambodian documentary film director and screenwriter. The French-schooled director's films focus on the aftermath of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime in Cambod ...

(2009) * Liv Ullmann (2010) *

Kyōko Kagawa is a Japanese actress. During her 70 years spanning career, she has worked with directors like Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi, Yasujirō Ozu and Mikio Naruse, appearing in films such as '' Tokyo Story'', ''Sansho the Bailiff'', ''The Bad Sleep ...

(2011) * Agnès Varda (2013) *

Jan Švankmajer Jan Švankmajer (; born 4 September 1934) is a Czech filmmaker and artist whose work spans several media. He is a self-labeled surrealist known for his stop-motion animations and features, which have greatly influenced other artists such as Ter ...

(2014) * Yervant Gianikian and Angela Ricci Lucchi (2015) *

Jean-Pierre Dardenne Brothers Jean-Pierre Dardenne (; born 21 April 1951) and Luc Dardenne (born 10 March 1954), collectively referred to as the Dardenne brothers, are a Belgian filmmaking duo. They write, produce, and direct their films together. The Dardennes ...

and

Luc Dardenne Brothers Jean-Pierre Dardenne (; born 21 April 1951) and Luc Dardenne (born 10 March 1954), collectively referred to as the Dardenne brothers, are a Belgian filmmaking duo. They write, produce, and direct their films together. The Dardennes b ...

(2016) *

Christopher Nolan Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British-American filmmaker. Known for his lucrative Hollywood blockbusters with complex storytelling, Nolan is considered a leading filmmaker of the 21st century. His films have grossed $5&nb ...

(2017) *

Apichatpong Weerasethakul Apichatpong Weerasethakul ( th, อภิชาติพงศ์ วีระเศรษฐกุล; ; ) is a Thai independent film director, screenwriter, and film producer. Working outside the strict confines of the Thai film studio system ...

(2018) * Jean-Luc Godard (2019) *

Walter Salles Walter Moreira Salles Júnior (; born 12 April 1956) is a Brazilian filmmaker. Early life Salles was born on 12 April 1956 in Rio de Janeiro and attended the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. He is the son of Brazi ...

(2020) * Amitabh Bachchan (2021) *

Tilda Swinton Katherine Matilda Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is a British actress. Known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition t ...

(2022)

References

External links

*
International Index to Film Periodicals

FIAF Congresses website
{{Authority control * Film organizations in France Organizations based in Paris Organizations established in 1938 Film preservation FIAF-affiliated institutions