The China Film Archive looks back at the 20-year restoration project, and 2,589 films have been restored in high definition.

It has been 20 years since the China Film Archive’s film archive film digital restoration project was launched. 2,589 high-definition films, 502 2K films, and 81 4K films have been restored.On October 31, the 2026 Tribute to Classics and Restoration Film Forum was held in Suzhou. Restoration technology, the principle of respecting the original works, and the dissemination of classic films became the focus of discussion.

With the theme of "Reviving the Cultural Memory of Old Movies", the forum invited heads of film authorities and restoration experts from Cambodia, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany and other countries to participate.Qin Zhengui, deputy director of the Central Propaganda Film Bureau, director of the China Film Archive, and director of the China Film Art Research Center, Lu Liang, deputy director of the museum and deputy director of the center, Shao Zhenggang, secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Jiangsu Film Group, and Wu Kun, deputy secretary-general of the Suzhou Municipal Party Committee, attended the event.

Qin Zhengui said that systematic protection, open sharing and revitalization of film archives are facing new requirements put forward by the development of the cultural industry and the national cultural digitalization strategy.Film restoration is not only related to image preservation, but also the basis for film history research, academic innovation and the construction of high-level academic platforms.While integrating collection data, self-developing key algorithms, and laying out intellectual property rights, the China Film Archive is looking for more dissemination paths, hoping to connect restoration, research, screening and dissemination so that young audiences can also access classics.

The cooperation between Suzhou and the China Film Archive began in 2020.Wu Kun introduced that the two parties have held Tribute to Classics·International Restoration Film Exhibition and Restoration Film Forum for seven consecutive years, and have cooperated to build the Jiangnan branch, which has attracted hundreds of thousands of moviegoers.Classical gardens, ancient city walls, and art galleries have also become screening spaces for classic films.

The discussion was divided into three units: New Pictures of Film Restoration in the AI Era, Restoration Concepts from a Humanistic Perspective, and Expanding the Dissemination Channels of Restored Films.International experts such as David Bosch, director of the Bologna Film Restoration Group, Martha Matzke, restorer of the German Film Archive, Samantha Leroy, head of film curatorial work at the Jérôme Seydoux-EMI Foundation, Kieron Weber, director of film conservation at the National Archives of the British Film Institute, participated in the exchange.Leroy is also a member of the Curatorial and Utilization Committee of the International Federation of Film Archives.

Domestic guests include Hou Yong, Zhang Zhiliang, Tao Jing, Yang Xuepei, Li Shuping, Ishi Chuan, Cheng Yaodong, Liu Da, Chen Jun, Bian Wei, Ma Ping, Li Zhiyong, Liu Wei, Zhang Aigong, Tao Zhulin, Zheng Wenguang, Bai Ling, Zuo Heng, Zuo Ying, Zhang Chi, Li Tao, Chen Siquan, Yang Ge, Wang Ying and more than 20 practitioners and researchers.

Participants discussed the efficiency changes brought about by AI, as well as the construction of domestic data sets, special models, computing power base and industry standards, and also emphasized that repair work still requires human artistic judgment.David Porch believes that analog and digital technologies can be integrated.

Martha Matzke reminds: “ Artificial intelligence brings the 'temptation' of fully automatic repair, but ethical norms and historical authenticity are the most important.”Participating guests advocated judging “what should be revised and what should be retained based on the creative context and the original author's intention, so as to ensure that ”repair the old as before%.

When it comes to film dissemination, the guests proposed building a multi-level and sustainable dissemination ecology to allow restored films to enter public cultural life.

The forum also led to a new international cooperation: the China Film Archive and the Department of Culture and Art Film and Cultural Communication of the Kingdom of Cambodia signed a memorandum of cooperation on film restoration from 2026 to 2029. The scope of cooperation covers archive restoration, technical exchanges, personnel training and joint curation.

Lu Liang released 82 classic restoration films selected by experts at the scene, using videos to review the achievements of the past two decades.

Li Tao, head of the AI Restoration Laboratory of the museum, summarized several explorations in the project: the first in China to restore "The Horse Thief" with a high frame rate and 5.1 channels, the first to carry out the practice of artificial intelligence converting black and white to color feature films, the first to use CINITY LED projection technology to complete the 4K restoration of "Tea House", and the first to open relevant graduate training.Many restored films have appeared in international A-category film festivals.

The seventh %Tribute to Classics·International Restoration Film Exhibition, held concurrently with the forum, will last until November 8, focusing on screening 20 Chinese and foreign restored classics, and launching IMAX format screenings.The 4K restored version of - Long Live the Wife - has its world premiere here, - Sunrise - The Golden Age - and other overseas classics have been restored for domestic premieres, and the 4K restored version of - Spring in a Small Town - Tea House - Family - has also returned to the screen.