ININFIAMMABILE project invites public to share Pathé Baby home movies for collective archive

The ININFIAMMABILE project, launched during the Venice Film Festival, calls on families to donate their Pathé Baby 9.5mm home movies for digitization and archival preservation. The initiative is led by RI-PRESE, a spin-off of Università Iuav di Venezia, in partnership with Fondazione di Venezia, Fondazione M9, Museo del 900 di Mestre, and Fondazione Iuav, with patronage from Veneto Film Commission. Pathé Baby film, introduced in Italy in 1922, was the first amateur film stock, using non-flammable cellulose acetate. Collected films will be cleaned, repaired, and digitized in high resolution using a frame-by-frame scanner. The original films and digital files will be returned to owners. The digitized content will enter the Archivio Audiovisivo della Memoria Territoriale of RI-PRESE and the permanent collection of M9 – Museo del '900 for exhibition and educational use. The project aims to build a collective archive of Italian domestic and community life. Luca Molinari, scientific director of M9, emphasizes the importance of new sources for understanding 20th-century Italian habits and material culture.