Archive notice: This article was originally published on August 19, 2013. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Germany loves bureaucracy and order in card indexes, now also when it comes to film: under Section 7a of the Federal Archives Act, registration of German films with the Federal Archives has been mandatory since July 7. This applies to all cinema films that are shown publicly; the producer of the work must register them within one year of the first screening.
For films that are not feature-length, it also applies in cases where they were shown publicly, funded with public money or won a national/international prize. The aim of this legislation is a complete, uniform overview, collected in one place, of all German cinema films produced from July 2013 onward. Producers can also voluntarily enter works made from 1949 onward in the database.
Besides the production data, it could be more complicated to specify where “a technically flawless, archive-compatible copy of the cinema film is located”, because subsequent changes to the storage location must also be reported. Production companies must also register in advance to create a user account. Let us count on the professional group of producers not to forget this registration, including the deadline, amid the bustle of everyday work.
Image: Shot/ Federal Archives logo
