Photo courtesy of Mikko Kuutti.

New FIAF Affiliation Changes, April 2026

We are very pleased to inform you of three recent affiliation changes within the FIAF network.

During its meeting in Rabat on 25 April, FIAF's Executive Committee decided to admit a new Associate: Northern Ireland Screen – Digital Film Archive (Belfast). 

The FIAF General Assembly on 30 April also ratified the upgrade from Associate to Member status of the Film Heritage Foundation (Mumbai) and the Museo del Cine Pablo C. Ducrós Hicken (Buenos Aires).

As a result of these changes, FIAF now has 99 Members and 88 Associates, i.e., a total of 187 institutions in 80 countries - a new all-time record. The changes have now been reflected in the Online FIAF Directory.

New Associate: Northern Ireland Screen – Digital Film Archive (Belfast, Northern Ireland)

dfa@northernirelandscreen.co.uk
https://digitalfilmarchive.net

Northern Ireland Screen – Digital Film Archive
3rd Floor, Alfred House, 21 Alfred Street, Belfast BT2 8ED
Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

Correspondence
Francis Jones (francis@northernirelandscreen.co.uk)
Head of Heritage & Archive

Established in 2000, the Digital Film Archive (DFA) is the moving image archive of Northern Ireland Screen, the national screen agency for Northern Ireland. The archive preserves, digitizes and provides public access to the region’s screen heritage.

Spanning from 1897 to the present day, the archive includes a wide range of material, including broadcast television, feature films, shorts, animation, newsreels, amateur films, artists’ works and contemporary born-digital content relating to Northern Ireland and its communities. The archive currently holds more than 12,000 digitized titles and over 6,000 hours of material.

A major area of work is the preservation and digitization of the Ulster Television (UTV) archive, undertaken in partnership with the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) and ITV. Established in 1959, UTV was the first commercial broadcaster on the island of Ireland.

The DFA maintains a managed digital preservation infrastructure using preservation-grade digital masters, LTO storage and cloud-based backup systems. In addition to preservation activity, the archive undertakes selective restoration work on historically and culturally significant titles and continues to expand its collections through ongoing acquisitions from broadcasters, production companies, independent filmmakers and members of the public.

Recent projects include Northern Ireland Now, a contemporary collecting initiative developed to document communities and experiences otherwise underrepresented within the region’s screen heritage. Working with community groups, artists and filmmakers, the project has explored themes including youth culture, migration, disability and LGBTQIA+ identity.

Creative reuse also forms an important part of the archive’s work. Northern Ireland Screen regularly collaborates with filmmakers, musicians, writers, poets and visual artists to encourage new interpretations of archival material through film, live performance, exhibitions and digital media projects. These initiatives aim to engage new audiences and demonstrate the continuing creative and cultural value of archival collections in contemporary practice.

Public engagement forms a central part of the archive’s activities, with screenings, exhibitions, educational initiatives and outreach projects delivered across Northern Ireland in partnership with festivals, museums, broadcasters, schools and community organizations.

Through FIAF affiliation, Northern Ireland Screen looks forward to contributing to international collaboration and professional exchange in the fields of preservation, digitization and public access.

New Members: Film Heritage Foundation (Mumbai, India) and Museo del Cine Pablo C. Ducrós Hicken (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

At its meeting in Rabat on 25 April, the EC unanimously supported the applications of the Museo del Cine Pablo C. Ducros Hicken in Buenos Aires and the Film Heritage Foundation in Mumbai for full membership. Both status upgrades were approved by a large majority at the General Assembly in Rabat on 30 April.

Museo del Cine was first welcomed into the FIAF community in 2001. Known for its unique collection of Argentinean and international cinema, this institution has also been a dynamic point of contact for FIAF with Latin America, and its director, Paula Félix-Didier, served on the FIAF Executive Committee for eight years, before stepping down in 2025.

The Film Heritage Foundation joined FIAF in 2015. During this period, it has played a very active role in promoting India’s film heritage and raising awareness of the urgency to save it, notably via its highly acclaimed annual film preservation and restoration workshop co-organized with FIAF. Its director, Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, also served eight years on the FIAF Executive Committee.