Screenshot of a film about the 1980 General Conference of UNESCO in Belgrade.

FIAF and UNESCO (1946-1980)

From the early days of informal exchanges in the mid-20th century to a more structured partnership in recent years, FIAF and UNESCO have worked together to address key issues surrounding the preservation and promotion of audiovisual heritage.  FIAF's involvement in UNESCO initiatives has played a role in raising awareness of the importance of safeguarding film as a vital part of cultural history. Over time, this partnership has led to significant milestones, contributing to the development of international policies and projects dedicated to the preservation of audiovisual heritage, most notably UNESCO’s Recommendation for the Safeguarding and Preservation of Moving Images.

One this page, you will find below key documents about the relationship between FIAF and UNESCO, sorted chronologically, up to the adoption of the 1980 UNESCO Recommendation. They include congress reports, correspondences, drafts, lists of participants in meetings and documents relating to the 1980 Recommendation, and expert missions carried out with or on behalf of UNESCO. Most of those documents can be found in the following boxes of the FIAF Historical Archive: GEN/004, PRO/006, PRO/007, PRO/013.

The beginnings of collaboration (1946-1951)

As early as 1946, Henri Langlois stressed the importance of collaboration between FIAF and UNESCO. At their first conference in November 1946, UNESCO proposed measures to facilitate the international circulation of educational and cultural material, including films. Although FIAF was not directly involved in this agreement, informal exchanges took place between the two organizations. However, in 1951, the FIAF Executive Committee decided not to approve of a resolution proposed by observers from international non-governmental organizations, believing that FIAF did not need UNESCO's intermediation to establish international relations or organize national institutions. Although the Executive Committee recognized UNESCO's role in disseminating information, they feared that financial aid might restrict their freedom of action.

1946-1948

Beginning of exchanges between UNESCO and FIAF

Letter from Jacques Havet to Henri Langlois (22 July 1946)

Letter from Henri Langlois to Jacques Havet (21 August 1946)

Draft convention to facilitate the international circulation of visual and auditory materials of an educational, scientific and cultural nature (23 April 1948)

Letter from William Farr to Zika Malewsky (13 May 1948)

Collaboration and tensions (1956-1959)

In the 1950s, initiatives to coordinate film and television preservation emerged, notably in 1956 with a resolution to create an international coordinating organization. In 1958, a project for an International Film and Television Institute, which would become the International Film and Television Council (IFTC), was launched. Their purpose was to advise UNESCO on cinema and television issues, but key members of the FIAF community, including Langlois, expressed doubts regarding this new organization. Indeed, the creation of a new international organization for film preservation affected FIAF's autonomy. Internal tensions within FIAF became increasingly apparent by 1959, when a dispute arose between Henri Langlois and Jacques Ledoux over a collaboration with UNESCO, which Langlois claimed violated FIAF rules. This, as well as other underlying issues, ultimately led to the departure of the Cinémathèque française from FIAF in 1962.

1956

9th UNESCO General Conference (New Delhi, 5 November - 5 December 1956)

Letter from Ernest Lindgren to Henri Langlois (21 January 1957)

Letter from Tor Gjesdal to Jerzy Toeplitz (23 January 1958)

1958

Creation of the International Council for Film, Television and Audiovisual Communication (Paris, 23 October 1958)

UNESCO draft for an International Film and Television Institute (1958)

FIAF EC Meeting report (pp. 17-31, London, 26-28 May 1958)

Letter from Ernest Lindgren to John Maddison (12 June 1958)

Letter from Henri Langlois to Jerzy Toeplitz (23 June 1958)

Provisional list of participants (18 July 1958)

Agenda (18 July 1958)

Meeting Maddison, Langlois, Lindgren [1958]

Minutes of the meeting on the 30 August 1958

Draft rules of procedure (26 September 1958)

1959

FIAF Congress in Stockholm (20-27 September 1959)

Letter from Henri Langlois to Jerzy Toeplitz (10 July 1959)

Letter from Jacques Ledoux to André Thirifays (16 July 1959)

Letter from Tor Gjesdal to Paul Vermeylen (31 July 1959)

Decision made during the Congress (pp. 23-24, 20-27 September 1959)

Note on the complaint lodged against the Cinémathèque de Belgique by the Cinémathèque française (21 September 1959)

Letter from Paul Vermeylen to Jerzy Toeplitz (23 September 1959)

Increased collaboration and first concrete projects (1964-1974)

From 1964 onwards, FIAF and UNESCO collaborated on specific projects, such as the African Project, aimed at developing film archives in Africa. In 1966, FIAF took part in a round table organized by UNESCO about the historical and critical treatment of cinema in universities, and was later invited to expert meetings on the importation of cultural materials and the study of Scandinavian cultures. The partnership was strengthened in 1973 with a joint study on the systematic preservation of films, carried out by the Canadian Film Archives on behalf of FIAF and UNESCO. In 1974, the 18th General Conference of UNESCO marked a turning point, with the adoption of a resolution about the preservation and promotion of audiovisual heritage. During the 1974 FIAF Congress, however, the General Secretary Jacques Ledoux expressed doubts over the utility of FIAF remaining a part of UNESCO.

1964

African Project (1964)

Letter from Marion Michelle to Jacques Ledoux (25 February 1963)

Letter from Jerzy Toeplitz to René Maheu (16 April 1963)

Document presenting the African Project (February 1964)

Minutes of the FIAF Congress and General Assembly (pp. 5-6, Moscow, 15-21 June 1964)

FIAF EC Meeting report (p. 6, Vienna, 28-30 March 1965)

Minutes of the FIAF Congress and General Meeting (pp. 5-6, Oslo, 21-27 June 1965)

1966

Round Table of Milan (20 April 1966)

Letter from John Maddison to Mayme Weatley (16 March 1966)

Working paper on free international circulation of audio-visual material [March/April 1966]

1967

Meeting of governmental experts in Geneva on the importation of educational, scientific and cultural material (November 1967)

Memorandum [June 1967]

Letter from Tor Gjesdal to Jacques Ledoux (19 June 1967)

Working paper (24 August 1967)

1969

Expert meeting in Copenhagen organized by UNESCO on the study of Scandinavian cultures (22-26 September 1969)

Agenda (4 July 1969)

Working document (15 July 1969)

Letter from L. Hahari to Jacques Ledoux (12 September 1969)

1973

Study on "A World Survey on the Systematic Preservation of Films" (1973)

Letter from Jacques Ledoux to Peter Morris (8 December 1972)

Contract for the supply of written and visual research or writing material, between UNESCO and FIAF (20 December 1972)

World survey on the Systematic Preservation of Films, prepared by the Canadian Film Archives for the FIAF under the contract of UNESCO (December 1973)

Minutes of the FIAF Congress and General Meeting (p. 15, Ottawa, 20-25 May 1974)

1974

18th UNESCO General Conference (Paris, 17 October - 23 November 1974)

Minutes of the FIAF Congress and General Meeting (pp. 6-7, Torino, 2-5 June 1975)

FIAF EC Meeting report (pp. 16-17, Amsterdam, 9-10 March 1975)

Resolution adopted at the 18th UNESCO General Conference (no date)

Towards the adoption of a recommendation on film preservation (1975-1980)

In 1975, FIAF took part in the UNESCO Experts Conference on the Preservation of Moving Images in Berlin. The event was a key moment in raising awareness among UNESCO Member States of the issues involved in audiovisual conservation. At the same time, FIAF criticized its unsatisfactory relationship with UNESCO via the International Film & Television Council and was interested in establishing more direct contact with UNESCO by seeking category B membership. Meetings organized by UNESCO in Belgrade in 1977 and Buenos Aires in 1978 led to further discussions on the technical and legal aspects of film preservation, particularly in developing countries. These efforts culminated in 1980 in a Recommendation for the Safeguarding and Preservation of Moving Images, adopted at the UNESCO General Conference in Belgrade.

1975

Committee of Experts on Preservation of Moving Images of Cultural Value (Berlin, 22-26 September 1975)

General survey on the legal protection of cinematographic works (1 May 1975)

Background and Objectives of the Meeting (Paris, 14 August 1975)

Memorandum (8 September 1975)

Draft Agenda (21 September 1975)

Timetable (21 September 1975)

Proposal for a Recommendation on Legal Matters (24 September 1975)

Additional remarks (25 September 1975)

Draft Final report (26 September 1975)

FIAF proposals (September 1975)

Theses on the Preservation and Restauration of Audiovisual Material (September 1975)

UNESCO Report (29 October 1975)

General Info (no date)

List of participants (no date)

Preliminary document (no date)

1977

Consultation on the Safeguarding and Preservation of Moving Images (Belgrade, 21-24 November 1977)

Preliminary Study (11-18 July 1977)

Technical Aspects of the Preservation of Moving Images (Belgrade, November 1977)

Final report (Paris, 15 January 1978)

France Administrative Structures (no date)

Canada Administrative Structures (no date)

Four countries study (no date)

Legal Aspects of the Preservation of Moving Images (no date)

Answers given by the Staatliches Filmarchiv (no date)

Discussion Guide (no date)

General Information (no date)

UNESCO's Speech (no date)

1978

Safeguarding and Preservation of Moving Images

Possible International Instrument (23 March 1978)

Adoption of a Regulation (28 July 1978)

FIAF Circular letter about the questionnaire of February 1978 (concerning the preservation of moving images and the creation and development of audiovisual archives, as a result of the UNESCO Resolution 3.442) (7 December 1978)

International Experts’ Meeting on Specialized Requirements Concerning the Preservation of Films and Other Audio-visual Media in Developing Countries (16-20 October, 1978, Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Basic Paper, prepared by IFTC (15 September 1978)

Final report (Paris, February 1979)

General Information (no date)

1979

Consultation for the Preparation of a Draft Recommendation on the Safeguarding and Preservation of Moving Images (Paris, 2-4 May 1979)

FIAF proposition (6 April 1979)

Programme Meeting (Paris, 6 April 1979)

Working Sheet (Paris, 6 April 1979)

FIAF response to UNESCO Recommendation (no date)

1980

Special Committee of Governmental Experts to prepare a draft Recommendation on the Preservation and Conservation of Moving Images (Paris, 18-27 March 1980)

Preliminary report (Paris, 20 July 1979)

Provisional agenda (Paris, 2 October 1979)

General information (Paris, 2 October 1979)

Rules of procedure (Paris, 2 October 1979)

FIAF Circular (4 December 1979)

FIAF Observation Report (Paris, 12 February 1980)

Provisional List of Participants (Paris, 18 March 1980)

Draft Final Report (Paris, 26 March 1980)

Final Report (Paris, 30 June 1980)

General Conference, Twenty-first Session, Belgrade 1980

Draft of the Recommendation (15 July 1980) [French and English]

The UNESCO Recommendation for the Safeguarding and Preservation of Moving Images (Belgrade, 27 October 1980)