Archival & Preservation

Archival and preservation work in China sits within a heritage shaped by the China Film Archive (中国电影资料馆) in Beijing, founded in 1958. It runs alongside the collections at Beijing Film Academy Archive, Shanghai Film Archive, and Hong Kong Film Archive. Pingyao IFF's restoration programme, led by Jia Zhangke, has raised the bar for what modern Chinese shoots expect from their long-term media plan.

Our team sets up preservation-master creation at finishing partners such as Base FX Beijing, Beijing Film Group Post, and Shanghai Film Studio Post. The output covers camera-original archival masters and ProRes 4444 XQ or DPX image sequences for the graded picture master. It also covers BWAV audio stems at the original sample rate and bit depth. Structured metadata packages travel with the asset, so future re-issues never start from a blank slate.

The physical archive runs on LTO-9 tape with LTFS mounting for easy retrieval. We keep two copies at sites far apart, usually one in Beijing and one in Shanghai or Hong Kong. Checksum checks run at each ingest and migration step. Format-obsolescence is tracked on a rolling schedule, so content can move from LTO-7 or LTO-8 to today's generations before silent bit-rot sets in. Digital asset management runs through MAM systems, with searchable metadata for project title, talent, music cues, location, and rights window.

Records and Forms are kept in line with Cybersecurity Law, Data Security Law, and PIPL 2021 cross-border rules. Cataloguing follows China Film Archive descriptive standards, so shoots bound for eventual deposit in the national collection can move across without rework. The same holds for titles set for re-release through anniversary screening programmes via Wanda, CGV China, or Pingyao IFF.