Michael Friend
This year, the UCLA Film and Television Archive, the Academy Film Archive and the National Center for Film and Video Preservation at the American Film Institute are proud to welcome the International Federation of Film Archives to Los Angeles for the 1995 Annual Congress. We hope all of you will be able to attend, and if you've been following the newsletters, you know that in addition to the General Assembly, we have a very busy schedule of symposia and workshops, receptions and events, tours and special programs. UNESCO's Director-General, Federico Mayor, will attend the opening of the Congress, and we expect to hear a major address from James Billington, the Librarian of the United States Congress. The Film Foundation will be represented by directors, including Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, who will speak at Monday evening's Director's Gala about their relation to preservation and cinema culture.
The symposia for the Congress have been organized to provide a fundamental excavation of the historical and conceptual issues underlying the film archival movement. As FIAF continues to grow, the need to respond to a complex and evolving world of communications and entertainment media becomes more and more immediate, and we are challenged by events to make our Federation a more effective, collaborative and goal-oriented entity capable of adaptation and self-renewal. Although each archive must establish its own objectives and priorities, the need for cooperation among archives on many different fronts (from cataloging and reconstitution of national film heritages to technical standards and copyright issues) becomes more apparent every day. Thus, the symposia of this year's Congress have been organized around the history of FIAF and its archives, and with special emphasis on the emerging social and technical realities which the Federation must confront.
The remarkable conversation between Jerzy Toeplitz and Wolfgang Klaue recently published in this journal provides an excellent starting point for the necessary re-examination, and much of what is presented in the symposia will build upon the historical foundation provided by our esteemed former presidents. Although some part of every Congress seems to devolve into an occasion for historical consideration, the 1995 Congress has been structured specifically to foreground issues of the federation's identity and future, with an eye to taking a firmer hold of our own destiny and the fate of the history of cinema.
In a departure from previous years, the Executive Committee has suggested that the symposia precede the General Assembly so that delegates will have the benefit of these presentations as a basis for discussion and action. Our president, Robert Daudelin will open the symposia with a brief address. Michelle Aubert will moderate the first panel, The Great Challenges, which will reflect on the accomplishments of our Federation and explore the most pressing questions facing the archives today. What were the consequences of the decision to open the Federation to a broader membership, and how should we conceive of membership in the light of this analysis? Participants will review key elements in the archival relationships to government and funding agencies, laboratories and other technical support entities, and to producers and rights-holders. How has the film archive movement been affected and transformed by the growth of "private sector" preservation initiatives? Which of the rapidly changing social and cultural conditions will be most determinative of present and future forms of archival activity and mission? Where are the greatest possibilities for qualitative growth and renewal? How can individual archives and the Federation as a whole respond pro-actively and effectively in the face of the new realities? The panel will include an evaluation of the current state of the film archive movement and a statistical survey of what has been produced and what has survived of the different film heritages represented within the Federation.
Among the most profoundly transformative of the new realities is the evolution of the technologies for production, storage and dissemination of the motion picture. Accordingly, the second symposium day will address developments which are in the first instance technical, but which are rapidly permeating every aspect of archival activity and deeply and permanently affect the institution of the cinema.
A panel addressing New Technologies for Preservation has been organized by Michael Friend. This presentation will attempt to foreground a consideration of the changing definition of preservation. The traditional technical bases of film archiving are now subject to substantial alteration, and these changes have aesthetic ramifications which must be confronted by archivists. Archivists need to specify acceptable practices for restoration, and to define the limits of the new technical tools. Such standards must be based on a consideration of the historical and aesthetic paradigms of the films we are seeking to protect. This panel will demonstrate the current state of digital restoration with the intention of stimulating an informed dialogue on the use of new methods and technologies available for preservation work.
Regardless of how archives will be funded in the future, the key to expanded support is the ever-increasing user base from many diverse disciplines. As the study of communications in all its aspects becomes more central to research in the human sciences, the archives will be called upon to serve a larger and more diverse body of users. Traditional library models of access, never directly applicable to film archives, are less and less acceptable to modern researchers. The only way archives will be able to meet the demands for access to films, photographs, scripts, posters, storyboards, personal, corporate and government documents, and catalog documentation will be through "interactive" methods of multi-media access. Steven Ricci's panel takes up the topic of Knowledge, Communication, Cooperation: High-Speed Networking and Interactive Access. Despite the diverse nature of film and film-related resources, and the physical distribution of resources across the globe, FIAF now has a chance to create a "virtual archive" by establishing its own electronic network to share motion picture resources of all kinds in digital form and to recover the international unity of cinema studies that characterized the earliest days of the Federation. This panel will discuss and demonstrate some of the ways data can be formatted, accessed, displayed and exchanged, and in so doing will outline an agenda for the next stage of FIAF's development in the areas of cataloguing and documentation as well as international exchange.
Clyde Jeavons will chair The Heart of FIAF: International Archival Cooperation, a panel addressed to the history of projects among the FIAF archives. From assistance to fledgling members and repatriation of "lost" films to preservation loans, programming and publication, training and perhaps now fund-raising, it is cooperation in the field of cinema which allows FIAF to be somewhat more than the sum of its parts. This discussion will present a critique of this dimension of FIAF's activity, and propose means of increasing the range, quality and significance of inter-archival projects under FIAF's aegis.
Perspectives 2000: Some Modest Proposals, moderated by Robert Rosen, will consist of a series of provocative interventions intended to break out of the traditional conceptions of FIAF, and to expand the range and conception of the Federation's activities. Panelists will propose regional and global projects of foundational import that could be accomplished in the next five years. These projects will address FIAF's internal development and also the increasingly important relations of the Federation with public and private institutions and agencies around the world. These proposals, which may be taken up by the General Assembly, will offer structured opportunities for the Federation to assume a pro-active stance, rather than simply responding to rapidly evolving social, technical and financial conditions.
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Cinema Culture in the Electronic Age, the last of the symposium panels, will present a wide-ranging discussion between some of the most important figures shaping the development of the global media sector today. These individuals will present facets of the transformation of cinema from a perspective only rarely available to the archivist. The panelists are involved in designing and implementing technologies in the cinema and media which surround, supplement, displace and otherwise affect film culture. Over the past several decades, the FIAF archives have become virtually synonymous with the concept of film culture, but what will the role of archives be in the coming era? How can we maintain and support FIAF's traditional values and also expand our relevance and cultural mission? This presentation will suggest some of the dimensions of this question.
Of course, the Congress won't be all work. The evening on the Santa Monica pier, the tours of historical Hollywood and Universal City, the Director's Gala and the dinner at Sony Studios will provide a modicum of entertainment and respite from the business of our Congress. UCLA's programming division will be screening restored films nearly every night of the week. Even the Academy's Marc Davis Animation Lecture -- scheduled for Wednesday evening and delivered by none other than Chuck Jones, will not qualify as hard labor. But in this election year, this centenary year of cinema, delegates will be called upon to reflect and act on a variety of issues that will shape the future of the federation.
We hope that the symposia will stimulate thinking about the ways that the core values of FIAF, to preserve and show, can be recast and carried forward into the brave new world of the next millennium. These two and a half days of symposia will be followed by the Open Forum and General Assembly, including FIAF business and elections, and finally, by the workshops, all of which present important opportunities to set a new course for the Federation. The hosts of FIAF 95 welcome you to Los Angeles, and look forward to an informative, provocative and entertaining week.
La UCLA Film and Television Archive, l'Academy Film Archive et le National Center for Film and Video Preservation de l'American Film Institute sont heureux d'accueillir la FIAF à Los Angeles pour le Congrès annuel 1995.
Les symposia du Congrès ont été conçus de manière à approfondir le débat historique et conceptuel qui sous-tend l'action du mouvement des archives du film. Vu la progression de ce mouvement, il devient urgent de trouver une réponse immédiate à l'évolution du monde des communications et des media du spectacle. Les changements nous placent également devant le défi de construire une Fédération plus efficace, mieux adaptée aux impératifs historiques ainsi qu'aux objectifs de coopération entre ses affiliés.
Les symposia de ce Congrès ont été conçus autour de l'histoire de la FIAF et de ses archives avec l'emphase sur les réalités sociales et techniques auxquelles elles se verront confrontées dans l'avenir. L'entretien entre les deux anciens présidents, Jerzy Toeplitz et Wolfgang Klaue, publié dans un numéro précédent de ce Journal, est un excellent point de départ pour un réexamen historique. Ceci n'exclura pas une approche qui mettra en exergue les orientations de la Fédération quant à son identité et à son avenir au vu de l'histoire même du cinéma.
Après une Introduction par notre Président, Robert Daudelin, les symposia précéderont cette année, l'Assemblée Générale. Sous le titre "Les grands défis" un panel modéré par Michelle Aubert tentera de refléter les accomplissements de notre Fédération et d'explorer les sujets les plus pressants auxquels les archives sont confrontées aujourd'hui.
Un panel organisé par Michael Friend abordera le sujet des "Nouvelles technologies pour la préservation". L'hypothèse de travail de ce groupe est que la seule manière dont les archives pourront répondre aux besoins d'accès aux films, photographies, scenarii, affiches, documentation et catalogues sera à travers les méthodes d'accès multimédia interactifs. Le panel de Steven Ricci approfondit le sujet sous le titre "Connaissance, communication, coopération: réseaux de haute vitesse et accès interactif". L'idée de base de ce groupe d'exposés est que la FIAF se trouve devant la possibilité unique de créer une “archive virtuelle” en installant son propre réseau électronique et d'échanger ses ressources filmiques de toute nature (film, non-film, etc.). Un panel animé par Clyde Jeavons retracera, sous le titre de "Le coeur de la FIAF: coopération internationale entre archives", l'histoire des projets de collaboration entre archives, partant de l'idée que la coopération entre archives fait que la FIAF est plus que la somme de ses partenaires. Sous le titre "Perspectives 2000: quelques modestes propos", le panel de Robert Rosen relancera le débat en proposant des interventions destinées à rompre avec les conceptions traditionnelles de la FIAF et tendant, si possible, à élargir son champs d'action. Le dernier panel du symposium, intitulé "La culture cinématographique à l'âge électronique", réunira des personnalités disposant d'une grande connaissance, si non influence, sur les technologies qui entourent, complètent, déplacent et en tout cas affectent la culture cinématographique. Le but de cet exercice sera de tenter de répondre à des questions telles que: comment maintenir et soutenir les valeurs traditionnelles de la FIAF tout en assurant la relève et notre mission culturelle future?
Les deux jours et demi de symposia seront complétés de soirées d'animation, projections, excursions et conférences qui contribueront à la réflexion sur l'avenir de la Fédération. Les délégués pourront ensuite s'exprimer à l'Open Forum et aborder les affaires courantes et les élections dans un nouvel état d'esprit.
Introducción al 51o. Congreso de la FIAF
El UCLA Film and Television Archive, el Academy Film Archive y el National Center for Film and Video Preservation del American Film Institute se complacen en recibir a la FIAF en Los Angeles para el Congreso anual de 1995.
Los simposios del Congreso han sido concebidos con el fin de profundizar el debate histórico y conceptual que sirve de base al movimiento de los archivos de cine. Dado el avance de dicho movimiento, resulta urgente encontrar respuestas adecuadas a la revolución operada en el mundo de las comunicaciones y de los medios del espectáculo. Los grandes cambios deberían, según los autores, incitarnos a construir una Federación eficaz, adaptada a las contingencias de la historia y conforme a los objetivos de cooperación de sus afiliados.
Los simposios están construidos en torno a la historia de la FIAF y sus archivos con especial énfasis en las realidades sociales y técnicas a las que deberán confrontarse en el futuro. La charla mantenida entre dos presidentes anteriores, Jerzy Toeplitz y Wolfgang Klaue, publicada en un número precedente de esta revista, debería constituir un excelente punto de partida para proceder a un análisis histórico. Este será completado por una evaluación de las orientaciones de la FIAF en cuanto a su identidad, su porvenir y al rol que desempeña en la historia del cine.
Luego de una Introducción de nuestro presidente, Robert Daudelin, los simposios precederán este año a la Asamblea general. Bajo el intitulado Los grandes desafíos, un panel moderado por Michelle Aubert procurará reflejar los logros de nuestra Federación y de explorar los problemas más urgentes que deben resolver actualmente los archivos de cine. Un panel dirigido por Michael Friend abordará el tema de Las nuevas tecnologías de preservación. El postulado de base de este grupo es que la única manera en que los archivos podrán responder a las necesidades de acceso a los films, fotografías, guiones, afiches, documentos originales y catálogos será a través de técnicas multi-media interactivas. Bajo el título Conocimiento, comunicación, cooperación: canales de alta velocidad y acceso interactivo, el panel de Steven Ricci defenderá la oportunidad única que tiene hoy la FIAF de crear su "archivo virtual" instalando su propia red electrónica y de intercambiar los recursos de que dispone: películas y todo tipo de elementos relacionados con el cine. El panel animado por Clide Jeavons, El corazón de la FIAF: la cooperación internacional entre archivos, analizará los proyectos de colaboración (en todos los campos) entre archivos, partiendo de la idea que la cooperación hace que la FIAF sea más que la sumatoria de cada una de sus componentes. Bajo el título Perspectivas 2000: algunas modestas opiniones, Robert Rosen relanzará el debate proponiendo ideas tendientes a romper con los conceptos tradicionales de la FIAF y apuntando, si ello es posible, a ampliar así su campo de acción. El último panel del Simposio, que lleva por título La cultura cinematográfica en la era electrónica, reunirá a personalidades que conocen y ejercen su influencia en las tecnologías que afectan a la cultura cinematográfica. El objetivo de esta discusión es de tratar de encontrar respuestas a preguntas contradictorias (por ejemplo: "Cómo defender a los valores tradicionales de la FIAF y al mismo tiempo reinventar su vocación futura?")
Dos días y medio de simposios serán completados por animaciones, proyecciones, excursiones y conferencias que contribuirán a la reflexión sobre el futuro de la Federación. Los delegados podrán luego expresar sus inquietudes en el "Open forum" y abordar finalmente los negocios corrientes y las elecciones de la Asamblea general con un espíritu nuevo.