There is no way to learn the craft of a film restorer other than by apprenticeship, as no class at university level would reach this goal. For this reason, since 2007 Cineteca di Bologna – in collaboration with FIAF and ACE – has been promoting and hosting the FIAF Film Restoration Summer School, opening to the public its highly specialized state-of-the-art laboratory, L’Immagine Ritrovata, which has been working in the film restoration industry for over twenty-five years. In 2013 for the first time the FIAF Film Restoration Summer School project travelled from Bologna to the National Museum of Singapore, in 2015 again to the Film Heritage Foundation in Mumbai and in 2017 to the Cinemateca y Archivo de la Imagen Nacional (CINAIN) in Buenos Aires, to offer an alternative to film restoration training in other areas of the world.
The main purpose of this project is having selected participants experience hands-on the work of actual restoration professionals, to foster a shared knowledge in the field for current and future generations and world film archives. The training is conceived for an international target group, including archivists, staff working at FIAF archives and students. Theory and practical lessons will be held by an international panel of the best experts from different countries as well as L’Immagine Ritrovata and Cineteca di Bologna staff.
This year forty-six participants from twenty-four different countries have been selected. Lectures and screenings will take place at Cineteca di Bologna’s facilities, while the film restoration training will be run at the laboratory L’Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna. Training will last two weeks, from 2nd July through 13th July 2018. Il Cinema Ritrovato film festival (23rd June to 1st July 2018) forms part of the course, as well as a number of lectures included in the festival programme. The course started with a one-month online distance learning experience on restoration technologies with weekly updates (9th May to 13th June 2018 – each Wednesday).

Film restoration online theory course:
distance learning, May 9th to June 13th (on Wednesdays)

Theory lectures and Il Cinema Ritrovato film festival:
Bologna, June 23rd through July 1st

Restoration practice classes:
Bologna, July 2nd through July 13