This year we had a lecture from Dr Toby Haggith from the Imperial War Museum who spoke eloquently about the use of the IWM film archive which Peter Jackson used in his transformation into the recent film, They Shall Not Grow Old. What are the ethics of using old film, altering them and editing them for modern purposes. This is certainly a moral minefield but hearing about the creative and inventive processes, and the triumphant result despite many misgivings at the beginning of the project, proves that the archives have much to offer the contemporary film goer.

I am keen to start screening films from the naval archives as there is no better way of making history come alive, I will be making contact with the IWM to see what they have to offer.

Bryony Dixon also spoke about the digitisation of early Victorian films, we learnt about the technical difficulties of transferring the film to a digital format and the frustrations and competitiveness of early film makers. But they were inventive and dedicated to making films despite the cumbersome nature of the equipment. These films are fascinating and hopefully we cinemas can bring them to a wider audience.