16/06/2008

On June 12, Danish Minister of Culture Brian Mikkelsen opened one of the world’s most advanced nitrate film archives in a converted bunker in Hillerød, north of Copenhagen.

The first 50 years of Danish film history, consisting of 6,800 titles – from the masterpieces of Carl Dreyer to rare documentary footage – have been distributed across 11,500 separate elements in 24,000 cans. In all, 53 tons of cellulose nitrate is now stored in a 1,160 square-metre underground refrigerator with a constant humidity of 30% and temperature of -5%. The sign above ground resembles a cemetery of sarcophagi or modern landscape installation.

Approximately €5.3m was spent to create the ideal home for the Danish Film Institute’s film archive’s collection, as well as nitrate material from the Royal Library and the National Museum.