What does the next decade hold for the Asian film archive?
Subject: Overview, History, Mission, and Strategic Initiatives Date: October 26, 2023 Prepared by: [Your Name/Assistant] asian film archive
The core mission of the AFA is threefold: What does the next decade hold for the Asian film archive
While the term “Asian film archive” covers dozens of institutions, a few stand out as global leaders. The core mission of the AFA is threefold:
Before discussing preservation, one must confront the staggering scale of loss. Film historians estimate that over 80% of Asian silent films are lost forever, and for certain regions—like pre-Revolution China or pre-war Vietnam—the figure approaches 100%.
The Four Horsemen of Asia's Film Loss:
Technically, the AFA’s restoration work is world-class. Their 4K restorations of M. Amin’s works are stunning. But a deep review questions the ontology of the restored object. When you digitally scrub the scratches from a 1960s Filipino melodrama, are you saving the film or killing its history? The scratches, the warped audio, the faded color—these are the scars of the film’s journey through coups and floods. The AFA sometimes leans toward the "museum ideal" (perfect, silent, pristine) rather than the "lived ideal" (noisy, damaged, alive). The archive must ask itself: Are we resurrecting the art, or embalming the artifact?