How can paper records help us uncover, interpret and preserve audiovisual history? On 19–20 November 2026, the FIAT/IFTA Media Studies Commission and Entangled Media Histories (EMHIS) will bring together researchers, archivists and media professionals for Papering Over Audiovisual Archives, a two-day international symposium at the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision in Hilversum, the Netherlands.
The symposium explores the role of paper archives in media-historical research, highlighting their significance in understanding the histories, practices and institutions behind audiovisual collections. By bringing paper records into dialogue with audiovisual materials, the event aims to examine how these often-overlooked resources contribute to media historiography and to the appraisal and valorisation of audiovisual archival records.
Registration is available for either one day or the full two-day symposium:
- Full symposium (November 19-20): €40
- Single-day attendance: €20 per day
- Dinner (November 19): €35
The deadline to register is Thursday, November 12.
People who do not have institutional support and are interested in joining the symposium may qualify for a registration fee waiver. For inquiries about this, you can contact msc@fiatifta.org.
Across two days, the symposium will explore how paper records can deepen our understanding of film, television and radio history, particularly when audiovisual materials are missing, inaccessible or at risk of being lost.
Thursday opens with a panel on colonial film collections, examining how documents can reveal overlooked histories and challenge colonial narratives, followed by sessions on archival methods, institutional practices and regional television archives.
Friday’s programme turns to women’s screen work, the precarity of archival collections and the politics of personal papers. Presentations will consider how notebooks, correspondence, production files and other documents can make visible the contributions of women filmmakers and technicians, recover marginalised film cultures, and reshape established historical narratives.
