Film-Workshop

In 2010, the Alpbach Film-Workshop focuses on science fiction movies on the one hand and on the increasing difficulty of documenting and archiving film, text, video and images on the other.

The topic of the first day is the science fiction genre, its origins, definitions and characteristics. The genre first appeared in the years before 1910, with a new apex in the 1940s and 1970s, and has experienced continued commercial success until today with productions like Star Trek or Stargate. The sessions will address the various features of science fiction films: Travels through space and time, alien life-forms and antagonists plotting to rule the universe. Basic human fears and hopes are reflected in scenarios that range from the idyllic to the apocalyptic.

Sessions on the second day will deal with the growing problems of documenting and archiving different media like film, text, video and images. A tremendous amount of material has been produced in the last century, and thousands of books, articles and TV-hours are added every day. How can all this important and historical evidence be preserved and archived?