BFI National Archive Introduces Archive Futures

The BFI National Archive has launched a new development programme Archive Futures.

The programme gives archive professionals from around the world the opportunity to learn from the BFI's internationally renowned technical experts and curators. The course runs from 22-24 February, 2017 at BFI Southbank and the BFI National Archive, Berkhamsted. Specialist film restoration and archival R3storeStudios.com are kindly sponsoring this unique 3-day training programme.

The public's appetite for archive content is clear from the huge critical acclaim for BFI National Archive restorations such as The Great White Silence and The Epic of Everest and the recently released Napoleon. The BFI’s Britain on Film project with 7,000 newly digitised titles released online has already been enjoyed by over 20 million people across the UK. However, in order to ensure the continuing preservation and accessibility of our film and television heritage we must develop new skills and technologies so that our rich screen history can be enjoyed for generations to come.
he challenges of preserving and accessing film, television and video in all their historic formats are something that all archives have in common. The scale of the BFI National Archive’s collections have demanded radical solutions and clear models of practice which can be copied and adapted for use in any collection, large or small by other archive collections.

Archive Futures is aimed at archive and collections specialists and managers who want to share their own experiences and learn from professionals at the cutting edge of archive practice as we enter a new digital age. The BFI has been at the forefront in creating systems to bring archive working practices up to date and has pioneered data capture and cataloguing systems which have been adopted across the world.

The course is unique in offering a wide range of experience and expertise from the working practitioners at one of the world’s most significant and busiest archives. The course is led by key staff from the BFI National Archive: Charles Fairall, Head of Conservation and Robin Baker, Head Curator. They will be joined by Ron Martin, Head of Collections Management; Helen Edmunds, Collections Manager; Kieron Webb, Film Conservation Manager; and Stephen McConnachie, Head of Date Collections & Information.

Charles Fairall, Head of Conservation, BFI National Archive said: "The BFI is passionate about sharing our knowledge with archivists around the world and Archive Futures will provide essential learning and knowledge about the latest techniques and innovations in professional film and television archiving for the 21st century. These skills are vital if we are to continue preserving, restoring and making our film and television history accessible for generations to come."

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