On the foundation of the Cinematography Act of the Rebublic of Croatia(1976) the Croatian film archives(Croatian Cinematheque) were established in 1979. at Croatian state archives as a nacional film archive with a job to collect, preserve, process and protect the nacional film fond.
As a associates member, Croatian Cinematheque (CFA) was accepted, in 1993, into the International association of film workers (FIAF) and since 1997, it is a member of the European association of film archives (ACE).

So far, there has been 20.975.007 meters of the film material collected. The legal base of delivery of the film material to Croatian film archives is based under the provisions of the Cinematography Act and the Archives and Archival Material Act (1997). These laws obligate the film makers in the Republic of Croatia to deliver the authentic materials of picture and sound to the Croatian film archives one year after the making of the film and one unused copy of every new made film, however the importers of a foreign film are obligated to delivery of a foreign film copy after the expiration of the presentation rights.

Scene from a movie "Who sings means no harm"
1970; director Krešo Golik
CSA, Croatian Film Archives, The Collection of Film
Photography of the Croatian film, 8316/026

The priority of the Croatian film archives (Croatian Cinematheque) is processing, protection and restoration of the nacional film holdings. In the period from 1981. till 1998., 313.779 meters of film holdings dated from 1903 to 1953 have been permanently protected and transfered from flammable on nonflammable film tape. Simultaneously, by special inovative procedure, 35.065 meters (208 titles) of non professional film from period of 1927 -1938. was transfered from the format of 9,5 and 8 mm standard on 35 mm tape. As a special measure of protection, Croatian film archives (Croatian Cinematheque) since it's establisment, has been producing safety copies of feature–length films (140 titles) and short films (662 titles). Tracking the condition, mainly of authentic materials, sistematicaly, the interpositives and the internegatives are being produced for colour films that are mechanically damaged or in which has already started the colour fading process. Making a copy of negatives and positives were made for films on black and white tape because there were phisical changes on the original film tape caused by inadequate conditions of preserving In the year of 1995 a Project of complete restoration of the Croatian fim heritage was made (1995-2010). In the period from 1995 till 1999, 21 feature-length films, 97 animated films and 144 documentaries were restored by making of new inter or replica positives, inter or replica negatives, a sound of the negative and new safety copies).

Croatian Cinematheque (CFA) owns a collextion of the movies from Croatian heritage and the collection of foreign film.
Next to the film material, the Croatian Film Archives continuously also collectes a secondary film material (posters, shooting scripts and etc.) and it owns a museum collection of film technics that testifys of technical and technological level of croatian cinematography. This collection encloses period from 1893 till 1970, and contains 129 exibits (projection technics and film cameras).

In the context of the Croatian Cinematheque's (CFA) publishing program works about croatian cinematography are published in special edition "Sources for the history of croatian film and cinematography".

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