Brussels, 07/07/2010 (Agence Europe) - In a report published on Tuesday 6 July, the European Commission sets alarm bells ringing over the survival of Europe's film heritage. With 80% of silent films estimated to have been lost already, even new digital-era films will be at risk if film heritage institutions continue to use the same methods of conservation. “Digital technologies are riding to the rescue of our fragile film heritage, but we need to ensure that best practice examples are applied in the preservation process in order to achieve optimum results across the EU,” Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes says in a press release.
The report says that the traditional model used by the bodies responsible for preserving works of cinema - conserving fragile film materials in sealed boxes in vaults - can no longer continue to be used. It cannot guarantee the preservation of the works for posterity or accessibility. New digital technologies, however, completely change how films are collected and preserved, and have an impact on the way film heritage can be made available, both on-line and through digital projection. The Commission, then, calls on the film preservation bodies to continue their efforts to increase the amount of film and related film material available through Europeana, the EU's public digital library. The report highlights, too, best practices in member states for dealing with the challenges of analogue and digital film heritage. For instance, certain national and regional schemes include a clause requiring producers who receive funding to grant rights for non-commercial uses in the EU to the funding authority or to a public film heritage institution.
The results presented in this report are only a first assessment of the challenges and opportunities of the digital era for European film heritage. The Commission has launched an independent study, which will look at the issue in greater detail. After reviewing the results of the study, the Commission will consider whether a revision of the Film Heritage Recommendation is appropriate at this time. The recommendation, which was adopted in 2005, calls for Europe's film heritage to be methodically collected, catalogued, preserved and restored so that it can be passed on to future generations. (I.L./transl.rt)