A newspaper in four languages, produced by Jannuzzi Smith, announces and celebrates the launch of a new Research and Archive Centre by Cinémathèque suisse in Penthaz, in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. Recognised by the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) as one of the ten most important film libraries in the world, the archive holds 85,000 feature films and documentaries, together with millions of posters, photographs, screenplays, documentary files, books and periodicals, antique equipment, film sets, and film-related objects.

Cinémathèque suisse acquired the Penthaz site in 1988, then in 2005 the Swiss Federal Council financed the construction of the new buildings. An architecture competition was held, won by EM2N in Zurich, with the project to devise interior and exterior brand and wayfinding signage awarded to Jannuzzi Smith.

In addition to areas dedicated to preserving the physical film collections, the Research and Archive Centre has a laboratory for film digitisation, areas devoted to restoring and cataloguing documents, a museum, a cinema equipped for all kinds of analogue and digital screenings, a library and media library, as well as areas for consultation, screening, and study – all connected to the institution’s digital archives.

Archivists, researchers, filmmakers, professionals, and visitors can now access the very rich heritage preserved by Cinémathèque suisse thanks to a modern, world-class resource.