• 1. A film is either created under the direct supervision of a filmmaker or is the record of an historical moment captured by a cameraman. Both types are potentially important artifacts and part of the world’s cultural heritage. Film is a tangible and “human-eye readable” entity which needs to be treated with great care, like other museum or historic x-x-objects.
• 2. Although film can be physically and chemically fragile, it is a stable material that can survive for centuries, as long as it is stored and cared for appropriately. Its life expectancy has already proved much longer than moving image carriers like videotape that were developed after film. Digital information has value only if it can be interpreted, and digital information carriers are also vulnerable to physical andchemical deterioration while the hardware and software needed for interpretation are liable to obsolescence.
• 3. Film is currently the optimal archival storage medium for moving images. It is one of the most standardized and international products available and it remains a medium with high resolution potential. The data it contains does not need regular migration nor does its operating system require frequent updating.
• 4. The film elements held in archive vaults are the original materials from which all copies are derived. One can determine from them whether a copy is complete or not. The more digital technology is developed, the easier it will be to change or even arbitrarily alter content. Unjustified alteration or unfair distortion, however, can always be detected by comparison with the original film provided it has been properly stored.

Acknowledgements:

The FIAF 70th Anniversary Manifesto was originally drafted as FIAF Appeal by Hisashi Okajima in 2007, based on his inspiration first suggested in 2005 in his mission statement for Executive Committee membership of FIAF. The draft was thoroughly refined by David Francis, fully elaborated and edited by Roger Smither, with invaluable advices from Paolo Cherchi Usai, Robert Daudelin, Edith Kramer and Paul Read, and with the consultation of the current EC members of FIAF. Translation to French was done by Robert Daudelin, and to Spanish by Christian Dimitriu.

The Manifesto was adopted in principle by the majority of those attending the FIAF General Assembly in Paris, after discussion thatincluded a number of reasonable suggestions for improvements. As agreed in the proposal that was put to the vote, these have been discussed by a team appointed by the Executive Committee, which has produced this final text. The team consisted of Paolo Cherchi Usai, Roger Smither, Hisashi Okajima and Eva Orbanz. Contributions to the final editing process were also received from Ivan Trujillo, Alexander Horwath and Maria Bustamente.