Iraq, France Launch Project to Restore Historic Film Archive

 
 
Baghdad – INA
 
The Advisor to the Prime Minister and Head of the Iraqi Visual Memory Committee, Hassan Al-Sudani, announced on Sunday the launch of a project to restore Iraq’s cinematic archive.
 
Speaking to the Iraqi News Agency (INA), the head of the committee Al-Sudani stated, “An agreement between the Iraqi and French governments, signed on October 15 last year, includes the rehabilitation of Iraqi films dating back to the mid-20th century, when Iraqi cinema first emerged, up until its cessation.”
 
He added, “We have agreed to restore 104 Iraqi films, which form the backbone of Iraqi cinema. So far, we have managed to collect 70 films from our cinematic heritage, despite the challenges we faced after 2003, when many films were lost or moved to various locations.”
 
Al-Sudani further explained that “over the past two years, we have successfully gathered a significant number of films in cooperation with security, cultural, and political institutions, and we are continuing our efforts to locate the remaining archive.”
 
He emphasized that “the Iraqi government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al-Sudani, places exceptional importance on preserving audiovisual heritage.”
He also noted that “the project was officially launched after the arrival of the first specialized restoration equipment last Thursday.”
 
 
Regarding future plans, Al-Sudani revealed that “the Iraqi Visual Memory Committee will work on rehabilitating television heritage in all its forms, and we will soon celebrate the launch of a dedicated project for the Iraqi television archive.”
 
Meanwhile, the French Ambassador to Iraq, Patrick Dorrell, expressed his enthusiasm for the initiative during his speech at the launch ceremony. He affirmed that “restoring Iraq’s visual memory and improving its film, audio, and visual archives is essential.”
 
He continued, “This project represents a significant model of strategic partnership between Iraq and France, allowing for the preservation of fundamental elements of Iraqi history and culture.”
 
The ambassador highlighted that “France will contribute to the restoration of more than 100 Iraqi films. These archives are not merely records of the past, but a source of inspiration for the future.”
 
He also noted that “France will support the training of officials from the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Antiquities, as well as the Iraqi Media Network, in cinematic film restoration techniques to enhance Iraq’s expertise in this field.”
 
 
Dorrell emphasized that “the partnership also aims to enable young Iraqis to reconnect with their cultural and historical heritage.”
 He further mentioned that the film “Sa’eed Afandi” has already been sent to France for restoration in preparation for its participation in the Cannes Heritage Film Festival.
 
According to an INA correspondent, “the ‘cinematic Iraq’ project aims to restore and preserve more than 100 Iraqi films by training Iraqi specialists in archival management and preservation techniques.”
 
The correspondent added that “the project includes the development of specialized infrastructure for the preservation of Iraq’s cinematic archives, in partnership with the Al-Hassan Bin Al-Haytham Higher Committee for Visual Memory. Utilizing advanced digitization and restoration technologies, this initiative will allow future generations to access these cinematic works, contributing to cultural awareness and highlighting Iraq’s cinematic history on both local and international levels.”