More than 1,600 films from Moldova Film archive will be digitised, with the support of the European Union and the U.S. Government

State-of-the-art equipment will ensure the transfer of films from Moldova Film archive on digital media. Thus, over 1,600 films have the chance to return on TV and the big screens.

With the support of the European Union, an ultrasonic film washer has been purchased. The U.S. Embassy in Chișinău equipped in 2021 a digitisation laboratory to restore and preserve its archive feature and documentary films, representing an important part of Moldova’s historical, cultural, and artistic heritage. At the same time, the technicians were trained to ensure smooth transfer of films from the archive into digital format.

The initiative to digitise films of the Moldova Film archive was selected for funding following a competition conducted by the EU Confidence Building Measures Programme, implemented by UNDP, which included a consultative vote from the public.

“Promoting culture as a tool for peaceful inter-community relations is a key-element of the EU Confidence Building Measure programme, implemented in collaboration with UNDP, to strengthen people-to-people relations and cooperation between the two banks of the Nistru River. We are glad that we, the European Union, are able to contribute to harnessing the golden archives of the cinema of the Republic of Moldova, for the benefit of its citizens!” stated Jānis Mažeiks, Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova.

The digitisation process has begun in 2021 with 10 fiction and 20 documentaries that have been presented on Moldova 1 and Moldova 2 TV stations. The first animation film to undergo digitisation is “Haiducul”, the winning film at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival, the short film section.

The digitised movies from the Moldova Film archive were broadcast at the Odeon cinema in Chișinău, but also in other localities in the country.

Moldova Film Studio has a cinematographic collection which is considered national heritage comprising over 1,600 films, of which 180 – fiction movies, 1,050 – documentaries, 109 – animation movies, 231 – “Sovietscaia Moldavia” newsreels, all accumulated during almost 70 years.