We are thrilled to unveil the official poster and finalized schedule for the 3rd Global Audiovisual Archive Symposium (GAVA2026), hosted by the Thai Film Archive. From 15–18 June 2026, join international scholars and archivists as we explore critical themes “Outside of the Frame” in audiovisual preservation.
Beyond the sessions, delegates will experience a unique cultural excursion to the 108-year-old Nang Loeng
Cinema and the historic Hua Lamphong Station. 📍 Location: Salaya, Thailand 📅 Dates: 15 – 18 June 2026 🔗 View Program & Register:https://fapot.or.th/gava2026/ (please finalize your registration by 31 May 2026.)
Don’t miss this opportunity to strengthen global archival networks. See you in Thailand!
Regional Capacity Building in the Nordic countries and Estonia for Film Projection
The goal of the workshop is to share and keep alive the knowledge and practice of analogue film projection in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden) and Estonia. The workshop is aimed at projectionists with some experience in handling and projecting analogue film.
A preceding online distance learning programme will provide a theoretical understanding of a variety of topics related to analogue film and its theatrical presentation (film formats, sound systems, projector mechanisms, etc).
During the workshop participants will receive a 35mm hands-on film projection training, which includes handling analogue film prints, threading a projector, performing change-overs and more.
The hands-on workshop will take place at the Film House/Filmhuset, located in the city of Stockholm (Borgvägen 1-5, Cinemas). The projection booth at the training location is equipped with Philips DP70 for 35mm and 70mm film, Kinoton FP-38E for 35mm and 16mm film, as well as Kinoton FP18 for 16mm film.
Participants 10 to 15 projectionists, chosen through a selection process. Announcement of selection: end of March 2026.
Date and Venue 28–31 May 2026 – Filmhuset, Stockholm 20, 22, 27, and 28 April – Online distance learning
Application Deadline 8 March 2026
Application Requirements Please include your CV and a short description of your professional experience, specifying the types of equipment and projectors you are familiar with and currently use.
Participation Fee Free of charge with lunches provided. Participants need to cover costs for travel and accommodation.
Selected participants who are affiliated with a cinema in Sweden that receives support from the Swedish Film Institute may be eligible for financial support covering 50% of travel and accommodation costs. Please note that the request for financial support must be submitted by the cinema. For detailed information on this financial support, please visit.
Languages English
Organisation Julia Mettenleiter, Archival Film Collections
Analogue Film Projection: Handling Fragile Film Prints in Cinemas and Festivals
With the digitisation of cinemas, expertise in projecting 16mm and 35mm films—and in maintaining the corresponding projection equipment—is increasingly being lost. At the same time, many films remain undigitised, and the surviving prints of older works are fragile objects that require the utmost care. Film prints are not the only vulnerable elements: often ageing projectors also present new challenges due to their irregular use.
This course offers cinema and festival professionals the opportunity to update their knowledge, improve their handling of sensitive film materials, and acquire valuable theoretical and practical skills in the maintenance of analogue projection equipment.
Prior to the course, participants receive comprehensive documentation and preparatory materials. These cover the basics of film formats, image and sound, physical carriers, and the principles of film projection, allowing participants to engage directly with practical work from the outset.
Programme
Day 1 focuses on preparing film prints for projection, identifying and repairing damage, and understanding the specific characteristics of historical film materials. Equipment care and maintenance are also addressed. These topics are further explored through group-based practical exercises in the afternoon.
In the evening, participants are invited to a special screening of Cinemania (2002) in a 35mm print at Lichtspiel.
Day 2 is dedicated to restarting projection equipment that has not been used for extended periods. It also covers the transport and storage of film prints, as well as live subtitling methods, enabling screenings of original-language films with subtitles in different languages. The afternoon again focuses on hands-on exercises tailored to participants’ needs.
Trainers
David Landolf (CH) David Landolf studied electrical engineering at EPFL. As a child, he used his father’s Super 8 projector and later trained as a projectionist. In 2000, he founded Lichtspiel/Cinémathèque de Berne, which he continues to direct, focusing on the preservation, operation, and transmission of analogue film technologies. He lectures at various universities and universities of applied sciences and has served as a specialist delegate for the Memoriav network and as a long-standing technical expert for the Swiss Film Association.
David Frey (CH/FR) David Frey began his career as a projectionist in 2010 during the transition to digital projection. In 2017, he became a trainer in analogue projection techniques, and in 2020 he took on responsibility for projectionist training in France. Since 2022, he has been Head of Projection Technology at the Cinémathèque suisse, which also operates the Capitole cinema in Lausanne.
Participants 10 to 16 projectionists working in cinemas or festivals, with prior knowledge of analogue projection techniques
Date and Venue 10–11 June 2026 Lichtspiel / Cinémathèque de Berne
Application Deadline 6 May 2026
Application Requirements Please include your CV and a short description of your professional experience, specifying the types of equipment and projectors you are familiar with and currently use.
Participation Fee CHF 350 (including lunch)
Languages German and French, with simultaneous translation
Organisation Raff Fluri, Head of Continuing Education
The Summer School Digital Archives is a 5-day, practice-oriented course for professionals working in audiovisual archives who wish to deepen their understanding of digital environments and archival processes. The fourth edition focuses on digitisation workflows and technical metadata, covering planning and prioritisation, evaluation, cataloguing, and the handling of digitised materials. The programme also addresses data governance in the context of Artificial Intelligence and introduces practical approaches to setting up an open AI instance with minimal technical effort.
Date:14–18 September 2026 Location: Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF / Bundesarchiv Fee: 780 EUR (student and early bird discounts available; FIAF scholarships offered – see below) Registration deadline: 12 July 2026
There is also the possibility to apply for a scholarship sponsored by the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF). FIAF is pleased to award five scholarships of 500 EUR each. These scholarships contribute toward the participation fee; the remaining balance of 230 EUR must be covered by the selected participants. The application deadline for the FIAF scholarship is 8 May 2026.
The EUscreen Symposium 2026, titled “Reframing Openness: Empowering Authenticity and Reuse in Audiovisual Heritage,” will take place on 8–9 April 2026 in Warsaw. It is co-organised by EUscreen and FINA. It is a free conference (registration required) addressed to professionals from the audiovisual archives community, as well as scholars, rights experts, technologists, and community practitioners.
The symposium will address the shifting definition of “openness” in the context of copyright constraints, AI-generated content, and co-creation, and examine how reuse strategies need to be reimagined to balance legal, ethical, and cultural responsibilities. Special attention will be given to the transformative potential — and risks — of artificial intelligence in archival description, access, and interpretation, as well as to the role of inclusive, community-driven approaches that promote plural narratives and empower users as co-stewards of AV heritage, archival integrity that relies on trust and quality and necessary competences in the sector to allowing it to face the new realm.
The full programme and speakers’ profiles will be published in March; however, confirmed elements of the programme are already available.
Cineteca di Bologna, L’Immagine Ritrovata, FIAF and the Association des Cinémathèques Européennes (ACE) are thrilled to announce that the 11th FIAF Film Restoration Summer School will take place in Bologna during summer 2026.
The institutions behind the Summer School have come together once again in order to renew and strengthen their long lasting cooperation, a bond that aims to pursue the spread of film preservation and conservation through the international community. Specialists, film archive staff and students that are looking forward to experience the complete restoration workflow in our experienced film restoration laboratory, are more than welcome to apply.
Applications are open until 15 February 2026. Program and application form can be downloaded on L’Immagine Ritrovata website.
The conference will be hosted by the Thai Film Archive Public Organization on 15-18 June 2026. Proposals received by 15 February 2026 will receive full consideration, and the program and registration will be available in March 2026.
On 24 June 2025, at MAMbo in Bologna, Jay Weissberg, Director of the Giornate del Cinema Muto (Pordenone), delivered an insightful presentation on strategies for sharing and promoting heritage cinema in a changing cultural landscape.
23–24 October 2025 FINA, Wałbrzyska 3/5 Str., Warsaw
The conference is addressed to digital preservation specialists, digitisation project managers, professionals responsible for cataloguing digital collections in cultural institutions and film post-production, as well as anyone interested in the long-term care of digital heritage.
Key topics will include new formats for audiovisual production, such as IMF (Interoperable Master Format) and FFV1 as an alternative to DPX, environmental costs of long-term digital preservation and strategies for sustainable development of digital infrastructure, legal deposit strategies for cinematographic works — current practices in Poland and across Europe and film-out workflows — limitations and potential of technologies such as Arrilaser, documentation and file integrity in the context of born-digital collections in museums.
The organisers will also present the goals and framework of the project “Immersed in Culture: Digital Access to Audiovisual and Multimedia Collections of FINA and CSW ZU” / „Zanurzeni w kulturze. Cyfrowy dostęp do zasobów audiowizualnych i multimedialnych FINA i CSW ZU”, which received funding under the European Funds for Digital Development 2021–2027 (FERC 2.3 – Digital accessibility and reuse of information).
More information: FINA website Follow on social media: facebook Joint the discussion: #PamiecAbsolutna2025 / #ZanurzeniWKulturze / #ImmersedInCulture
The 3rd Global Audiovisual Archiving (GAVA) Conference will take place 15–18 June 2026 at the Thai Film Archive (Public Organization) in Salaya, near Bangkok.
GAVA is a biennial traveling platform for dialogue and collaboration in the field of audiovisual archiving. Guided by an international advisory board of archivists and scholars, it seeks to bridge cultural, institutional, and economic divides across the global archival landscape. Following the success of its first two editions – in Amsterdam (Eye Filmmuseum, 2022) and Toronto (TIFF, 2024) – the third gathering promises to continue fostering vital conversations and lasting connections across borders.
The Thai Film Archive (Public Organization) is a state agency dedicated to preserving and providing access to Thailand’s audiovisual heritage and film-related materials. Founded in 1984, it functions as a museum, library, and cinematheque. It is located in Salaya, a suburb of Bangkok.
Mark your calendars!
More details and the Call for Proposals will follow in October 2025.
GAVA 2026 Program Committee:
Chalida Uabumrungjit & Sanchai Chotirosseranee – Thai Film Archive (Public Organization) Karen Chan – Asian Film Archive Lisabona Rahman – FIAF Martino Cipriani – Bangkok University Giovanna Fossati – Utrecht University
GAVA Advisory Board: Ines Aisengart Menezes (Witness), Carolina Cappa (Elias Querejeta Zine Eskola), Karen Chan (Asian Film Archive), Martino Cipriani (Bangkok University), Tamer El Said (Cimatheque – Alternative Film Centre), Giovanna Fossati (Utrecht University), Anne Gant (Eye Filmmuseum), Susan Lord (Queen’s University), Maral Mohsenin (Eye Filmmuseum), Judith Opoku-Boateng (University of Ghana), Nour Ouayda (Filmmaker & Researcher), Asli Özgen-Havekotte (University of Amsterdam), Floris Paalman (University of Amsterdam), Lisabona Rahman (FIAF), Aboubakar Sanogo (Carleton University), Gerdien Smit (Eye Filmmuseum), Stefanie Schulte Strathaus (Arsenal – Institute for Film and Video Art), Juana Suárez (New York University / APEX), Eleni Tzialli (Eye Filmmuseum), Nadine Valcin (Sheridan College).
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We are thrilled to unveil the official poster and finalized schedule for the 3rd Global Audiovisual Archive Symposium (GAVA2026), hosted by the Thai Film Archive. From 15–18 June 2026, join international scholars and archivists as we explore critical themes “Outside of the Frame” in audiovisual preservation.
