Commissions

The FIAF Specialised Commissions

The FIAF Specialised Commissions play a very important role in the fulfilment of the aims and goals of the Federation. These are groups of experts which meet periodically, set up work programmes, collate the results and prepare publications for FIAF.

The oldest Commission is the Technical Commission which has as its task to assemble, study and publish the most reliable scientific information relating to storage, preservation, and restoration of audiovisual recordings. It was created in 1960, it has always tried to involve in its work not only the best technicians responsible for film preservation in the FIAF member archives, but also a wide variety of specialists from the industry, the university and the scientific world.

The Technical Commission publications include a permanently updated Technical Manual (in loose-leaf format and in three languages) including topics ranging from basic film handling, handling, storage and preservation of nitrate films, stability of colour films, treatment against bacteria and fungi, preservation of magnetic tapes, to design and lay-out of film storage buildings, etc...

The Cataloguing and Documentation Commission, was founded in 1968 and is now composed of eight members chosen for their expertise rather than as representatives of their archives. The Commission generally meets once a year to coordinate and carry forward work on the publication of standards, manuals and studies related to cataloguing and automated data processing for moving image materials held by archives.

The role of the Commission is to promote the exchange among FIAF colleagues of information, knowledge and expertise on film documentation in the widest sense with a view to standardise, whenever possible, working procedures thereby improving and facilitating exchanges at all levels.

In 1972, the international FILM AND TELEVISION PERIODICAL INDEXING PROJECT, that was originally based in London and moved to Brussels in 1996, started publishing annual volumes with regular updates that now is known as the FIAF International FilmArchive Database.

The Programming and Access to Collections Commission was created in 1991 and works in defining the qualifications and role of the programmer, elaborating new criteria for programming, organising joint programming projects, developing contacts between the film archives and the film schools, defining the access policy guidelines for cultural uses.