11 November 2013 – On the occasion of its 75 anniversary, the CINEMATEK  Brussels in cooperation with ACE is organising the symposium “Our images, our future.  Securing cinema’s past and future in the digital era”.

The transition to digital has a deep imapct on cinema as it imposes profound changes to the production, distribution and exhibition of film. It questions long established business models, multiplies access channels and platforms, and requires new strategies for long term sustainability and conservation. Consequently, film archives have to play a key role in the digitisation, conservation and access to the European  film heritage.

Digital offers unprecedented opportunities to restore the cinema of the past, to attract new audiences, and to create multiple, wider, and personalized channels to access the works of the past and of the future. While the problems and the danger of this transition has been dicussed at many occasions, this 3-day programme aims at defining the opportunities offered to Belgian and European cinema and the policies that will make them possible. With presentations from Bruno Mestdagh(Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique), Mikko Kuutti (National Audiovisual Archive Helsinki), Thomas C. Christensen (Danish Film Institute), and Jon Wengström (Swedish Film Institute).

All presentations can be downloaded at the Commission’s website A Digital Agenda for Europe.

25.11
Opening Night & Film Concert by the Brussels Jazz Orchestra

26.11
Session 1
Round table – Challenges and opportunities for the Belgian Cinema

Session 2
Enlarging access: a common effort on a European level?

27.11
Session 3
Digitization and Digital preservation: strategies and opportunities

The full programme is available at the Cinematek’s website.

Please register before 20 November via symposium@cinematek.be