Press Release: Digital Agenda: European film heritage – will it be there for future generations?

A report published on 6 July 2010 by the European Commission's Information Society and Media Directorate General sounds the alarm over the survival of Europe's film heritage. 80% of silent films are estimated to have been lost already but even new digital era films are at risk. Although the digital era provides new means of making and presenting films, it also imposes new challenges to the traditional ways of collecting and preserving films. Digital technologies are constantly evolving and what seems cutting-edge today may be as obsolete as cassette tapes or video recorders in 2020. Film heritage institutions need to keep up, take up and advance new technologies to preserve Europe's films.