National Film Center unveils new portal introducing European cinema, film art

A new film portal introducing European cinema heritage and facilitating study of the history of the art form was unveiled by the Georgian National Film Centre on Thursday, with the website aimed to provide access to archival material, video classes and more to young cinephiles.

Launcher under the title History-Film-History, the portal has been created with support of the European Union's Creative Europe programme, and marks the first time Georgia has led a project as part of the platform, the GNFC said in a release marking the launch.

Allowing young enthusiasts to "explore and analyse" cinema with knowledge of the art form and its history, it has been designed to utilise "pedagogical potential across a range of curriculum subjects," and involves tests, exercises, video lessons and other visual material on the subjects.

In launching the portal, the GNFC partnered with Fondazione Cineteca Italiana, the Serbian National Film Archive, and the British-based Film Space. The website is available in Georgian, English, Italian and Serbian and is made to help teachers, students and parents in efforts to promote the subjects and introduce knowledge around them.

A timeline view is used for introducing highlights of European cinema history on the new website.

Used in testing mode in both partnering countries and for the GNFC's Film in School project for introducing cinema to primary school students, the portal offers its two sections: XX Century History on Film and History of Cinema to visitors.

The former presents a timeline of historical events captured on film, while the latter also uses the timeline format to present highlights of European cinema history through notable films.

The project marks the latest effort of the national film body to make various cinema-related information available online. Its previous initiatives have included an online archive of information on national filmography.

The GNFC has also been working on restoring and digitising 20th century Georgian film heritage, and bringing back rolls of Georgian classics from the vaults of the Gosfilmofond Russian state archives over the recent years.