Journal of Film Preservation N° 56 - FIAF

Third Nordic Film Archives Meeting
Vigdis Lian
The third Nordic film archives meeting was held in Oslo in September
1997, after the first two meetings that were held in Stockholm and
Copenhagen. These meetings are meant to function both as a meeting
place for Nordic film archivists and as a forum for lectures and demonstrations
within the field of preservation and restoration.
This year part of the meeting was dedicated to sound systems from the
fifties (Cinerama 7 channel magnetic stereo sound system) untill today’s
advanced digital systems. The lecture, given by Torkell Saetervadet. p.t.
Service Engineer,SCPE, was well illustrated, and one was left with some
interesting questions, such as: has something been lost in the name of
the development ? More important, however, is the question of storage.
We don’t know for how long we can keep digital sound information
stored.
Tore Kinge, veteran documentary film maker told about his early year’ s
as a sound technician, also illustrated by film screenings. Torulf
Henriksen, representative of a private laboratory, Film Teknikk Norge,
lectured on the experiences gained in digital restoration. A faded animated
film (a puppet film from 1951) was used in the experience. The
conclusion so far is simple: it takes too many resources to make it
worthwhile for a private laboratory to continue to operate at this stage.
The Swedish Film Institute has the equipment to restore digitally, thanks
to government money granted especially for colourfilm restoration
(SESAM-project). The archive admits that so far very little of the investment
has paid off.
A common problem is the lack of profesional laboratories with the necessary
equipment (and personnel). The laboratory at NBR (National
Library, Rana) is equipped on a highly professional level and has the
potential to be in demand. Examples of restored colour films were
shown. All Nordic countries face the same reality: colour films are fading.
Without additional resources the risk of losing them permanently
is a great one. The problem must be raised on a principle level. The film
heritage is part of a nation’s cultural heritage, thus the question must be
on the political agenda.
In connection with restoration, ethical questions were discussed. We
want our films to be shown to the public. But the right equipment doesn’t
necessarily exit any longer. And when we restore, should we take
into consideration that the films will be shown to an audience of today,
or should we be strictly true to the original material ? This debate will
go on. Helsinki hosts the 1998 meeting, to which the Baltic countries
will be invited.
62 Journal of Film Preservation / 56 / 1998