Digital Film Archive Opens To Public

With everyting from GIs in WWII Ulster to the Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland Screen's Digital Film Archive (DFA) is now freely available to view at a regional arts facility.
The Flowerfield Arts Centre in Portstewart is the showing the items that cover drama, animation, documentaries, news, newsreels, amateur and actuality film.
The archive - containing over 70 hours of moving images about NI from as far back as 1897 - is stored on a computer which allows easy access to all the material. It is user-friendly and includes a list of highlights showing some of the best clips or you can browse, using a simple keyword search.
Users can take a leisurely stroll from the Giant's Causeway to Coleraine town centre in 1935 with Richard Hayward in Irish Travelogue; experience the life of American GIs stationed near Strabane during World War II in A Letter from Ulster (1944); relive the thrills of the North West 200 (Super 8 Stories) in 1965; quietly reminisce with Charlie McAfee in Charlie's Last Film Show (1950s-1980s), or simply sit back and enjoy Northern Ireland Tourist Board's beautiful Land of Magic (1962).
Northern Ireland Screen delivers themed presentations based on the content of the archive.
All presentations are free of charge and can be delivered on a range of subjects such as The History of the Newsreel, A Century of Moving Images, or flexible reminiscence presentations can be prepared on a subject chosen by the group involved.
Richard Williams, Chief Executive of Northern Ireland Screen said: "Northern Ireland Screen aims to ensure that our rich moving image heritage is safeguarded for current and future generations, and made accessible to the public in a way that is stimulating, entertaining and sustainable.
"We are delighted that Flowerfield Arts Centre has come on board to host the DFA, bringing the total number of sites where the archive can be viewed across Northern Ireland to seventeen.
"We hope that over the coming months and years this number will increase so that more people can enjoy this wonderful collection of historic film," he said.
(BMcN/BMcc)