“Raiders of the lost archive” discussed the huge wealth of digital archive material available which could be used to enhance TV and film content production, as well as providing interesting material for film exhibitors, especially those working in a community setting. 

Ciara Chambers, head of film and screen media at University College Cork, gave a rundown of her work on the TG4 project to save century-old newsreels documenting the political history of Ireland.

RMC Media’s Fran Rowlatt-McCormick discussed her experiences of working as an archival producer on projects such as Bobby Sands: 66 Days, a documentary feature about the 1981 hunger strike.

Warren Bell gave an overview of the BBC Rewind project, which hopes to release 10,000 pieces of material online over the next year or so. He also discussed using archive material on new and emerging platforms, including those with virtual reality content.

Documentary film-maker Brian Henry Martin from Belfast-based indie Doubleband Films presented his work on the BBC NI Super 8 Stories, a series that presented 75 years of life in Northern Ireland as recorded on super 8 film by people for their home movies.

Second Chance Cinema founders Rosie Le Garsmeur and Stuart Sloan presented the story of the documentary film specialists’ evolution into Northern Ireland’s most experienced film archive exhibitors. They also screened a section of some short films from the Second Chance collection. 

Media lawyer Olivia O’Kane from Belfast law firm Carson McDowell also spoke at the joint RTS/Film Hub event at Queen’s Film Theatre, which was held as part of BBC Digital Cities Belfast week.