The Swedish government has allocated €4.6 million over a five-year period to start the preservation of the Swedish film heritage, which will enable the Swedish Film Institute to make digital copies of 500 titles from its archives of 2,500 full-length and 6,000 short films.

“We are very pleased that the government took a decision that basically involves making everyone's film history available now and in the future,” said ceo Anna Serner (photo), of the Swedish Film Institute. “Swedish films are not only new films, but a cultural treasure of 100 years, and an invaluable source of knowledge for anyone who wants to learn about Sweden in the last century.”

Serner emphasised the urgency of getting started: according to estimates by the EU commission there will only be equipment available for another seven to ten years to accomplish large analogue scanning projects. And digital prints are necessary both for old and more recent films just to show them, since most of the cinemas are now digitised.

The initiative will also make the film heritage more accessible to the public: while analogue 35mm prints can only be shown in theatres, the digital copies can be screened on the internet, dvd-players, television, digital cinemas and future media.