CESNET to help represent Czech Republic at Cannes Film Festival this year

Prague, 21 April 2016. A project for the digital restoration of Czech film heritage, in which CESNET is actively involved on the part of the Czech Republic, has attracted attention both at home and abroad. It has even been mentioned on the official website of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, specifically in a section concerning the restoration of Jindřich Polák’s 1963 film Ikarie XB 1. Ikarie XB 1 is the first Czech film to be chosen for the Cannes Classics programme, which has been screening restored films by the world’s great cinematographers since 2004. The film thus returns to cinema screens in exclusive company.

The above-mentioned project, which was made possible by support from Norway Grants, aims to digitise and restore ten Czech films from the archives using new network technologies. The process can be made more efficient and faster by using remote supervision methods for retouching and colour corrections, tested by CESNET in past years. The Association’s part consists in providing systems and know-how for cinematic-quality video transmissions and access to high-speed, high-capacity storage for transmissions between the contractor and the National Film Archive.

The CESNET Association was founded by Czech universities and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in 1996. It is engaged in research and development in information and communication technologies and builds and develops the CESNET national e-infrastructure for research and education. With its research activities and accomplishments, CESNET represents the Czech Republic in international projects, most notably the pan-European GÉANT network building project and grid projects (EGI.eu), and participates actively in their implementation. The association also works on the use of high-speed networks for sharing multimedia data both through synchronous video conferencing and shared applications, and asynchronous streaming.

Last change: 14.11.2017