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silent film

In 1935 Friedrich Alwin Hutzli, a priest from Reichenbach, Switzerland, produced a unique documentary film about the daily life, local customs and the beauty of nature and mountains in the Kiental Valley in the Bernese Oberland on behalf of the local tourist office. The Lichtspiel - Kinemathek Bern who holds the only existent positive copy of 'Im Silberlicht der Blüemlisalp' ('In the radiant light of the mountain 'Blüemlisalp'') has now been able to restore and copy this 16mm silent film gem with the financial support from the canton Berne.

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The Danish Film Institute holds a significant collection of early motion pictures by Denmark's first filmmaker Peter Elfelt (1866-1931). Elfelt shot the first moving images in Denmark in the winter of 1896/97, a 30-second sequence called 'Kørsel med Grønlandske Hunde' ('Driving with Greenland Dogs'). Being the official photographer of the Danish royal court, his over 200 films reflect the royalty of the time, society, art and events. Peter Elfelt is also credited as making the first Danish fiction film, 'Henrettelsen' ('The Execution') in 1903.

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Over summer and autumn 2010, Europeana.eu is developing from a prototype to a fully operational site in a series of upgrades called the Rhine release programme. Along with several new and improved features on the portal, it will be accompanied by a series of events for both the public and Europeana’s network of partners. A virtual exhibition on the Europeana.eu website will be complementing the events, both tying into the theme of Art Nouveau.

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On 6 July 2010, the European Commission released the Second Implementation Report of the Film Heritage Recommendation. The Recommendation, adopted on 16 November 2005 by the EU Parliament and the Council, encourages Member States in establishing a long-term strategy for their national film heritage and identifies several fields of actions for safeguarding and promoting Europe’s film heritage. The new Report covers the issue of the digital turn and the question of how Members States deal with the transition from the analogue to the digital era.

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