Videotheque, Slovak Film Institute (SFÚ)

The SFÚ Videotheque administers a collection of Slovak films with SFÚ copyright for rental, mainly to film festivals. Transcription for individuals or organisations is provided according to rental rules. The Department rents Slovak films for public presentation, but the majority of the collection is available only to the expert public, art school students, journalists, filmmakers and teachers for studying purposes.

By 2003 the Videotheque owned 6,672 VHS videotapes, 1,005 of which were Slovak films and 5,667 of which were foreign films. Out of over 380 full-length Slovak films made since 1921, the Videotheque holds around 300, with new recordings being added continuously. The collection includes the oldest Slovak films by Eduard Schreiber (1908-1910) - Jánošík 21, Zem spieva (‘The Land Sings’), Po horách, po dolách (‘Through the Hills, Through the Valleys’) and Od Tatier po Azovské more (‘From the Tatras to the Sea of Azov’); nearly all full-length films made in the 1990s and in and after 2000; about 1,000 short films; the Storočie pred kamerou (‘A Century in Front of the Movie Camera’) series; and much more. All the films in Slovak Television's ‘Golden Fund’ are also kept here.

The Videotheque owns all new feature films from 2002 and out of its archive of about 18,000 films there are 10,000 full-length features. The foreign collection makes up 85 per cent of the whole collection. It includes films from the beginnings of cinematography in 1895 (Lumière, Edison, Meliés), films of German Expressionism (The Cabinet of Dr Calighari, Nosferatu), Citizen Kane, and films which have won Oscars, Golden Palms, Golden Bears and Felixes. The collection also carries many works of Czech cinematography – mainly films made by Slovak filmmakers and with Slovak actors – as well as other films of world cinematography.