The National Library of Sweden
Since 1979 the National Library of Sweden (former The Swedish National Archive of Recorded Sound and Moving Images) has been the repository for the legal deposit of all films screened in public in Sweden. According to law, distributors have to present a viewing copy of a film to the National Library, where the film is transferred to tape or file format and made available for individual research at its premises.
Why deposit by contractual obligation?
Since Swedish legislation does not cover films in their original format, the Swedish Film Institute has since 1981 established a set of regulations for the deposit of preservation elements by contractual obligation from producers receiving subsidies from the Institute. By this arrangement the majority of films produced are preserved for future generations in the best possible condition.
Declaration of deposit by contractual obligation
The Certificate of deposit by contractual obligation that producers have to sign in order to receive full production subsidies from the Swedish Film Institute specifies what type of preservation elements must be deposited with the archive. The declaration also specifies what ancillary elements have to be deposited with the Swedish Film Institute library, such as stills, posters, manuscripts, etc.
As most cinemas in Sweden are being converted to digital projection, the certificate has been revised to also include specifications on D-cinema elements. The latest version, as well as previous ones, can be downloaded as pdf:s.
Producers’ access to preservation elements
Should damage occur on the films original elements, for instance when striking viewing copies, the producer has access to the preservation elements deposited by contractual obligation to replace the damaged sections of the originals. The preservation element is also the best source element to use for future exploitation of the film in any digital format, known or yet unknown.
We accept elements for all films
We are of course happy to acquire preservation and original elements for all Swedish film released in cinemas, not only for those films produced with subsidies by the Swedish Film Institute.
Contact us
For questions and further information on deposits by contractual obligation, please contact Jon Wengström.
E-mail: jon.wengstrom@sfi.se
For questions and further information on production subsidies, please contact:
E-mail: produktionsstod@sfi.se
Ping-pongkingen (Jens Jonsson, 2008) is one of the films for which the archive has received preservation elements by contractual obligation. Photo: Johan Bergmark / Bob Film Sweden AB.