The digital age of film archive begins with the Sarajevo Film Center

With the arrival of experienced and talented colorists, film digitization and restoration technicians from Belgrade and state-of-the-art equipment, film restoration to their original state is launched. The laboratory unpacked the hardware components and installed the software. Film Center Sarajevo is now official lab for digitizing and restoring the film with the support of State Department’s Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation.

Digital film preservation is the culmination of Sarajevo Film Center’s mission, led by Director General Ines Tanović, the main initiator of the protection of cultural heritage. The process covers documentation and research of materials, manual reparation, treatment of chemically damaged material, washing and scanning, comparison of all available elements in an individual frame, and digital restoration followed by color correction. The fact that the process prolongs the life of film material by at least a hundred years speaks of its importance.

The restoration, protection, and digitalization of the Center’s collection of 35 mm and 16 mm films will ultimately be made available to academic institutions and the public through streaming and online distribution. In this way, with the laboratory of the Sarajevo Film Center, Bosnia and Herzegovina for the first time has the opportunity to compete with other countries and to enter the digital age.