Meetings

In 2014, the association's annual meeting was organised in the cinema Ponrepo.

It began on the 30th of October to the 1st of November. This was held in Prague by the national film Archive of Czech Republic (Národní filmový archiv –NFA) on the theme of amateur cinema in the former soviet bloc.

Jiří Horníček, curator in charge of amateur film collections and also member of the association's board of directors, has done a considerable amount of work to get in touch with institutions, associations, filmmakers and researchers working on amateur films in the countries of former Soviet Block. Contributors from Poland, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Romania, Slovakia and Austria helped one another for some time to dissect the four themes :

• Filmed diaries and family films
• Amateur cinema movement and clubs
• Amateur cinema as social phenomenon
• Archive and enhancement of amateur film.

In the end, the theme of the screening conceived from the members collections was “Through the Iron Curtain”.

For the opening, “Mr Roman”, a performance by Martin Ježek, Freudl, Procházk was presented during a public session. Using films from an unknown czech family, shot in 8mm between 1955 and 1981, the artists conceived a show with two spotlights, a guitar, an electro-acoustic organ and a tape recorder.

A few days later, Frederico Ferrone and Michel Manzolini came to present their documentary Il treno va a Mosca about a journey, shot in 8mm, of young italian at the World Festival of Youth and Students for peace and friendship in Moscow – 1957.

Members also talked about their projects. The President, Alain Esmery, talked about a survey he did within 33 european film libraries, for the 25th anniversary of the SPA's charter. Vincent Vatrican, director of the Archives audiovisuelles de Monaco, presented original and restored movies shot by Albert I during his explorations. Many questions about digital storage were discussed from the Monegasques and Savoyardes experiences. Finally, the general assembly voted for a budget to create a proper website for the association.