Film Archive
The Film Archive (Department for acquisition, safeguarding, preservation, restoration and cataloguing films and film materials), of Cinematheque of Macedonia collects, stores, restores, catalogs and processes films, primarily from national production. Over 6,000 titles with more than 16,000 copies (film titles and documentation, negative picture and negative sound, working and distribution copies) are deposited in the film archive, or over 64,000 reels film print, from both national and foreign production.
Besides the national film fund (films made in the period of the institutional cinematography, from 1947 until today), in Cinematheque there are two collections of exceptional value: The film opus by Manaki Brothers (the original nitrate negatives and all backup copies) and the documentary film “Macedonia in pictures” (1923) by Arsenij Jovkov (the source nitrate positive and backup copies). Besides these, there are also the funds of pre-war film amateurs: Blagoja Drnkov, Kiril Minoski, Blagoja pop Stesfanija and Sifrid Miladinov.
In 2005, the Cinematheque of Macedonia moved to new premises, and in 2009, after the renovation, the new depots for the storage of films and film materials, as well as non-film materials, were built according to world standards, with a 24-hour temperature and humidity control. In the film print vaults, the temperature is between 4 and 6°C, and humidity is between 40 and 50%, while in the vaults for non-film materials (written documentation, photographs, posters, propaganda materials, museum artifacts, and electronic formats) the conditions are between 18 and 20oC and between 40 and 60% humidity.
In 2011, the film archive began the long-term project for digitalization and digital restoration of national film heritage, as a protection and increased accessibility for wider film and cultural public. So far, the film opus of the Manaki Brothers, the documentary film “Macedonia in Pictures”, the featured films by the directors Stole Popov, Ljubisa Georgievski, Milcho Manchevski and Branko Gapo were digitized, as well as the feature films “Thirst” by Dimitrie Osmanli, “Father (We are Cursed, Irina)” by Kole Angelovski and “HI-FI” by Vladimir Blazevski. After completing each digitization process, the Cinematheque published a DVD edition with the restored films.
Contact: Igor Stardelov igors@maccinema.com
Kire Velkov kirov@maccinema.com
