Watch the sixth episode of Talking Archives 2, our online interview series, produced by A/CA researchers, Monika Kin Gagnon and Elina Lex, featuring conversations with filmmakers, archivists, and researchers who presented at the 2024 Global Audiovisual Archiving Conference in Toronto in July 2024.
This episode features Giovanna Fossati in conversation with Monika. Giovanna is Professor and Chair of Media Heritage, Technology and Culture in the Department of Media and Culture (MCW) and Director of Research for MCW at the Institute for Cultural Inquiry (ICON) at Utrecht University. Before joining Utrecht University she was Chief Curator (2009–2024) and Director of Collection & Knowledge Sharing (2023–2024) at Eye Filmmuseum since 1997. She also served as Professor and Chair of Film Heritage and Digital Film Culture at the University of Amsterdam (2013–2024), where she taught in the MA Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image program since its inception in 2003. Her research areas include film restoration, digitization, theory of film archival practice and more recently, questions related to a more global and sustainable approach to audiovisual archiving. Her book From Grain to Pixel: The Archival Life of Film in Transition (revised 2009 and 2018) has been translated into Spanish and Italian. Giovanna was guest editor with Floris Paalman and Eef Masson for the special issue of The Moving Image journal focusing on “Activating the Archive” (2021). Her position statement, “For a global approach to audiovisual heritage: A plea for North/South exchange in research and practice” was published by the online journal NECSUS (2021).
In this episode, Giovanna discusses her influential book, From Grain to Pixel and her various archival restoration projects while at the Eye Filmmuseum from 1997–2014. She speaks about the conferences she organized at Eye, including the first Global Audiovisual Archiving (GAVA) conference in 2022 and the vital nature and futures of collaborations between institutional archives, artists and community.
This interview was originally recorded on July 13, 2024 during the Global Audiovisual Archiving Conference at the TIFF Lightbox, Toronto. As we were situated in a public space at the Lightbox, there are ambient voices that we hope will not detract from this fascinating interview.
Archive/Counter-Archive is dedicated to activating and remediating audiovisual archives created by Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Métis, Inuit), the Black community and People of Colour, womxn, 2SLGBTQ+ and immigrant communities. Political, resistant, and community-based, counter-archives disrupt conventional narratives and enrich our histories.
Video Editor: Elina Lex
Production assistance from JP Marchand (CineMobilia) and Benjamin Dyment
Please consult the following for further information on Giovanna’s work:
Bio: https://www.uu.nl/staff/GFossati
From Grain to Pixel (open access): https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv8bt181
Fantasia of Colour in Early Cinema book teaser: https://youtu.be/s-ktK1LkOik
Essay: For a Global Approach to Audiovisual Heritage: A Plea for North/South Exchange in Research and Practice": https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357969365_For_a_global_approach_to_audiovisual_heritage_A_plea_for_NorthSouth_exchange_in_research_and_practice
Eye Museum International Conferences: https://www.eyefilm.nl/en/academic/conferences
The first GAVA Conference program: https://development.eyefilm.nl/en/programme/eye-international-conference-2022/563352
This is Film! series: https://www.eyefilm.nl/en/academic/public-lecture-series
This is Film! 2022 edition on YouTube: