Since 1938, CINEMATEK has collected:

71.857

Titles

21.837

Belgian films

178.828

Copies

6.160

Digital films

 ©Bea Borgers

In our film preservation center the long-term preservation of the collections is assured by applying the correct temperatures and keeping constant humidity degrees. When the films arrive, they are firstly identified and inventoried, before being stored in optimal conditions to later on be digitized and restored in our Digilab. The conservation center is also where the prints are prepared for screenings in our own theatres as well as in theatres all over Belgium and around the world.

The films in the collection come in all formats (35mm, 16mm, 8mm, 9.5mm, 28mm, UMatic, VHS, DVD, Betacam, Bluray or DCP) and are thus a nice cross-section of international and Belgian and international film history.

A great many of our films, both in analogue or digital format, are regularly shown to the public. Some of our digitized collections can also be viewed on our Youtube channel or on the moviolas in our museum. If the films are in good enough condition, they can also be allowed to be viewed for research or professional purposes, but only upon written request to our access department.


 ©Bea Borgers

Find out more about the contents of CINEMATEK's film collections and learn where you can stream digitized treasures from our Belgian collections for free.


Discover CINEMATEK

Behind the Scenes

 ©Bea Borgers

Learn more about the way we collect, conserve and painstakenly restore our film collections in order to preserve them for future generations. Foolow all steps a film passes through from the moment it arrives in our archive to the moment it is ready to be screened in our screening rooms.


Experts in

Digitization and Restoration of Film

 ©Bea Borgers

To ensure that the films from our archive are well preserved, it is necessary to digitize and restore them, so that they can be returned to their original state. Since this must be done under optimal conditions and with the necessary expertise, about 15 years ago CINEMATEK decided to start its own digitization and restoration department. This Digilab has since grown into an internationally recognized center of expertise for the digital restoration of heritage films and has won numerous awards for their work at major international festivals, such as Cinema Rittrovato.

 ©Bea Borgers

In order to safeguard the worldwide expertise of our Digilab in digitization and restoration of heritage films, in 2021 Cinematek invested heavily in a sustainable renewal of this expertise center by, amongst others, implementing automation processes and infrared technologies. Furthermore, the Laboratory has been updated with state-of-the-art film scanning equipment and restoration software. In recent years, the general restoration technology has changed enormously, thanks to various digital developments, making it possible to digitize and restore faster and without loss of quality. Together with our technical partners and the experts from our Digilab, CINEMATEK will keep building on our knowledge and expertise of digitisation and restoration of film heritage.

Access to our FILM COLLECTIONS

Reserve films from our collections for your festival, cinema or film club.

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Access to our FILM COLLECTIONS

If you are looking for clips or stills for your production, book or documentary, please start here.

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