Last Thursday evening, the FIAT/IFTA Awards Show took place at the Cinemateca Brasileira. The FIAT/IFTA community came together to celebrate 12 shortlisted projects for 4 categories.

We are proud to announce the winners of the FIAT/IFTA Archive Achievement Awards:

• Excellence in Media Management: “Bowerbird Australian Speech Engine: Unlocking the Australian National Audiovisual Collection with AI Archive” by the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.
• Excellence in Media Preservation: “Reuters Bureau Rushes Preservation Project” by Reuters.
• Excellence in Unlocking the Value and Potential of Archives: “Data.ina.fr” by INA.
• Excellence in Archive Production: “Vienna Killing: Jack Unterweger” by ORF / The Thursday Company.

The FIAT/IFTA Lifetime Achievement Award 2026 was presented to Dr Perla Olivia Rodríguez Reséndiz, recognising her outstanding contributions to the preservation of sound and audiovisual heritage. A researcher and passionate advocate for archives, Perla has dedicated her career to training professionals, fostering international collaboration, and promoting sustainable preservation practices. As co-founder of Mexico’s Fonoteca Nacional and founder of the Ibero-American Network for Digital Preservation of Sound and Audiovisual Archives (RIPDASA), she has helped connect professionals across eight countries. Now Director of the Institute for Library and Information Research at the Universidad Autónoma de México, she is celebrated as an activist for audiovisual heritage, a generous mentor, and a driving force in strengthening archival communities across borders.

Photo credit: Caio Brito