FIAF, the International Federation of Film Archives, brings together the world's leading institutions in the field of moving picture heritage.
Its affiliates are 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collection, preservation and screening of moving images, which are valued both as works of art and culture and as historical documents. When it was founded in 1938, FIAF had 4 members. Today it comprises more than 120 institutions in over 65 countries - a reflection of the extent to which preservation of moving image heritage has become a world-wide concern.
FIAF's aims are:
- 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".
FIAF 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.
Organisations interested in seeking affiliation should contact the Federation's secretariat, at the address given on this brochure.
FIAF 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.
Publications
FIAF publishes a regular Journal of Film Preservation. 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.
The 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.
FIAF around the world
FIAF has always had an active international profile. It was closely involved in the preparatory work for the UNESCO 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.
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.
If you wish to obtain more information about the Federation's activities and affiliation procedures, please contact :
FIAF Secretariat
Rue Defacqz 1
1000 Brussels
Belgium
Tel: +322 538 3065
FAX: +322 534 4774
info@fiafnet.org
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