SEAPAVAA Fellowship Award

Since I couldn’t receive the award in person, I sent a pre-recorded video message made using … two FFmpeg commands.

Good evening!

Please let me start with a technical remark: the subtitles of this clip are the list of the main contributions that I had the pleasure of making in Asia, Australia and the Pacific.

It was a most pleasant surprise when I learned that the 2023 SEAPAVAA Fellowship Award was conferred to me by the SEAPAVAA Fellow’s Circle. Thank you very much indeed for this great honour! Unfortunately, for health reasons, I cannot be with you at the welcome dinner to receive the award in person. My thanks go also to this year’s keynote speaker, Giovanna Fossati, who agreed to receive the award on my behalf.

The first SEAPAVAA conference I attended was the one which actually is missing in the list published on the SEAPAVAA website. It was in 2007 in Cambodia, under the presidency of the late Belinda Capul. Not only was this was my first SEAPAVAA conference it was also actually my first opportunity to travel in Southeast Asia. Immediately before the conference I visited the Thai Film Archive in Salaya, where Brigitte Paulowitz was working back then. The world is much smaller than you think …

Since then the exchange has been particularly intense with many people living in various countries of this region, some of them you see scrolling in the subtitles.

I have been working in the field of audio-visual preservation since 1986 – that’s since 37 years. All my career in the field of audio-visual conservation and restoration was driven by studying and discussing different realities with people from different perspectives. These exchanges of knowledge and experiences have been an essential source of inspiration for my own work. As many of you know, my focus was always in low-technology, low-cost resources and low-energy solutions, which are sustainable in the long term. In fact, with a deep understanding of old, proven technologies we can better adopt new methods.

My wish for SEAPAVAA is a simple one. Let’s continue to share and to exchange on technical matters; let’s continue to collaborate, despite the difficult political situations many countries are currently facing. Our common goal is to preserve the past and to celebrate the future.

I hope I see you all in-person next year at the SEAPAVAA conference in Jakarta … when my duty will be to present an interesting master lecture. For now, please enjoy the dinner and the conference!

Thank you for your attention.

Lausanne, 2023-05-04

Note

In 2024 the SEAPAVAA Conference will actually be held in Surakarta (Solo) and Yogyakarta (Jogja), Indonesia, not Jakarta as I said.

2023-05-12