Initiating specific schemes to promote the film and film production heritage, the Directorate of film and film production heritage also supervises, finances and coordinates major heritage institutions devoted to the cinema (Cinémathèque française, Bibliothèque du Film, Cinémathèque de Toulouse, Institut Lumière de Lyon).
It supports all types of heritage-related schemes (cultural, educational, training, promotional projects).
Finally, it participates in all international initiatives in this field (cooperation with foreign archives, legal thinking and trends, along with the major European and international organizations - UNESCO, European Union, Council of Europe, etc.).
Since 1991, this policy has more particularly focused on four areas of intervention.
Since the law of 1992, the CNC is responsible for the official deposit of films in photochemical formats.
To that end, the French film archives collect, preserve, catalogue and document this collection.
Efforts have been made to enrich collections particularly as regards non film items.
Specific grants have been set up for the purpose of buying objects and documents relating to film and film-making.
Heritage
The Directorate of film and film-making heritage covers all actions involving collection, preservation, safeguard, physical and documentary processing and promotion of this heritage, which concerns both film and ‘non film’ material, i.e. all items relating to the cinema.