Film heritage and innovation

Abstract

The debate about arts and innovation revolves around the contribution that creativity can potentially make to strengthen the cultural economy and the economy tout court. In recent times, European Film Heritage Institutions (FHIs) have been affected by such ideas in relation to the digitisation of their holdings. This chapter explores the potential contribution that the digitisation of film heritage (FH) can bring about in order to enhance innovation and competitiveness within the film industry. It explains the debates surrounding technological innovation and the arts. The Internet, which is often portrayed as a key innovation driver, is still economically marginal for FHIs and classic film distributors. Two factors impede the development of rich online catalogues, which could trigger an increase in demand for access and reuse: strict copyright legislation, the economic restrictions of FHIs (with exceptions), and weak demand for pay-per-view. Some film distributors were already involved in the theatrical redistribution of classic films before the 'digital era'.