French expert trains Moldovan cinema men in preservation, conservation of film archives

Chisinau, 22 March /MOLDPRES/ - A French expert has trained Moldovan cinema men in the preservation and conservation of film archives, at a workshop organized by the Embassy of France in Chisinau and the National Cinematography Centre of Moldova.  

Attending the event were French Ambassador to Moldova Pascal Vagogne, the first adviser of the embassy, Jeremie Petit, and the director of the National Cinematography Centre, Valeriu Jereghi.   

The special guest of the event was President of the International Federation of Film Archives, director of the Film Archives at the French National Centre of Cinematography Eric Le Roy. He led a workshop on the subject of conservation of Film Archives in Moldova.   

Ambassador of France to Moldova Pascal Vagogne said that his country had been backing the Moldovan cinematography for more than three years. “This time, we wanted to share our experience gained in the field of preservation and conservation of film archives. We have learned that the Moldovan film archives are preserved in more places. We are aware of the wealth you have, as well as the danger of their preservation and conservation. The advice which we want to come up with is aimed at helping you ensure the protection of these films, which should be known not only in Moldova, but also abroad,” Pascal Vagogne said.  

For his part, the director general of the National Cinematography Centre, Valeriu Jereghi offered sincere thanks to the Embassy of France for the support provided to the institution he leads. “Moldova’s film archive is dispersed both in the country and on the territory of the former Soviet Union. More than 60 per cent of our films are in Russia and the others – in Kiev, Ukraine. We need money to repatriate them. Other countries spent millions of euros to digitalize their archives. The Estonian, as well as the Georgian archives were repatriated in this way. We are grateful to our partners, first of all, the National Centre of Cinematography from France, which helps us develop this important sector. We will do our utmost to digitalize our films and bring them home in the near future,” Valeriu Jereghi said.    

Eric Le Roy referred to conditions of preservation and conservation of films in the French archive of films, which is one of the biggest in the world, with a history of about 100 years.   

(Reporter N. Roibu, editor A. Raileanu)