Promoted by the Cineteca di Bologna and the Mostra Internazionale del Cinema Libero, every summer the festival Il Cinema Ritrovato offers the opportunity to watch more than 500 films from the most different decades and places of film heritage. The festival is often called the “cinéphiles’ heaven” by a vast community of people involved in studying and protecting this film heritage. It has become a well-established event for archivists, restorers, historians, movie fans and film professionals in general, bringing over 3,500 guests from fifty-six countries. Last year’s screenings were attended by more than 100,000 spectators. One of the main reasons for its success is undoubtedly the ten open-air evening screenings in Piazza Maggiore where an audience of almost 4,000 people can watch films on the big screen. Guests included important personalities such as Bernardo Bertolucci, Dario Argento, Nanni Moretti, Marco Bellocchio, and many others.

The lecture held by Guy Borlée will analyse the 31 year history and all the steps of the festival organization, from the search for the best film prints around the world, the film selection process and the festival’s sections to the instruments to handle 500 films in all analogue and digital formats. Furthermore it will include he subtitling systems, the online database, the catalogue production, the photo research, the communication strategies, the budgeting, the musical events, the national distribution called Il Cinema Ritrovato al Cinema and the project Cinema Ritrovato on Tour, the organization of exhibitions, the book and DVD publishing, … Everything you always wanted to know about film festivals, but were afraid to ask!

At the evening of 9.5. the Filmmusum Potsdam will show a small selection of the festival’s films, specially selected and introduced by Guy Borlée.
The programme will show films from the 1910s in an order loosely inspired by a cinema’s usual programme structure of these years.
For further information visit website.

Since 1995, Guy Borlée is coordinator of the international festival Il Cinema Ritrovato. He is specialised in research of the best film sources at the international level, in the management of a large production team, the creation of musical accompaniment for silent films, the organisation of international conferences and the economic management of events.
Since 1995 he is also the coordinator of the summer programming Sotto le Stelle del Cinema (Under the stars of cinema), presenting film classics open-air on a huge screen on Bologna’s central square Piazza Maggiore.
Guy Borlée has presented the festival in many Universities recently among others Paris 8, Mainz, Loyola Marymount, Brown, Bari, Venezia and Bristol.
Admission to the workshop ist free. Because of limited seating we ask for registration. The talk will be held in english.

ORGANISATION
Birgit Acar (Film Museum Potsdam)
Esther Riese (Student Film Heritage M.A., Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF)