Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola signs a collaboration agreement with the Cuban Film Archive

In line with the foundational aims of the two institutions, which seek to research and safeguard film heritage and foster the transmission of knowledge in connection with the arts and crafts of film, the Elías Querejeta Film School and the Cuban Film Archive have signed a collaboration agreement that states their intention to establish joint avenues of work and cooperation. This collaboration will result, initially at least, in the creation of specific projects designed to research, conserve and disseminate Cuban film heritage, which were proposed and have been agreed upon by both parties. The agreement also contemplates a series of actions oriented towards identifying, inspecting, conserving, restoring and/or digitising the film and audiovisual materials linked to these projects, which the Film Archive must facilitate in order to enable them to be carried out in the EQZE laboratories. The outcomes of this collaboration will be disseminated in academic and professional forums, through a series of public programmes.

The Basque Film Archive will participate as a collaborating institution, coordinating the circulation of materials with its Cuban counterpart. It will also make its storerooms available for the temporary holding of materials while they are not being worked on and will provide access to copies of the Cuban films in its collections.

The agreement has been signed for a four-year period, and may be extended for a further four if both parties so decide. Furthermore, the two institutions undertake to activate other avenues of collaborative action in areas of common interest not specifically covered by this agreement.

The Elías Querejeta Film School has previously signed collaboration agreements with other institutions working in the same field, including the Spanish Film Archive, the Portuguese Film Archive - Museu do Cinema - and the Munich Filmmuseum. The Cuban Film Archive is a cultural institution founded in 1960 by the Cuban Film Art and Industry Institute (ICAIC), with the aim of guaranteeing the indefinite protection of the country’s film heritage and contributing to public cinematographic and cultural development.