The Vatican Film Library possesses a patrimony of filmed material on the history of the Church, starting with the document of 1896, “Pope Leo XIII in the Vatican Gardens”. The archive contains about 8,000 titles, supported in acetate, magnetic and digital formats, all from various donations. In addition to the historical documents, the Vatican Film Library also conserves the “Joye Foundation” (Fondo Joye), a collection of films that date back to the beginnings of cinema, including "L'Inferno" of 1911. There are also other documentaries on art, culture and current affairs, and commercial films of artistic value and worthy of note. Some of these most representative materials are in great demand from film libraries around the world for their festivals and film retrospectives.
In order to preserve the cinematographic materials in the formats 16 and 35 mm., a special storage deposit has been realized with optimal air-conditioned environments, between 14° and 18° Celsius, and humidity at around 35%, in accordance with the indications of the FIAF (International Federation of Film Archives - www.fiafnet.org) of which the Vatican Film Library is also a member.
The Vatican Film Library also has a projection room that can accommodate about 54 people, renovated in 2005, where numerous film previews and events take place. This room is located in Vatican City, near Palazzo San Carlo, and adjacent to this is the cellar that houses all the films.
Since 1997, with the Fondazione Ente dello Spettacolo and the Pontifical Council for Culture, the Vatican Film Library has participated in the organization of the Tertio Millennio Festival, which takes place in Rome in December and involves Catholics, Waldensians, Protestants, Orthodox, Jews and Muslims. This interreligious festival is an opportunity to renew the dialogue between cultures, through the immediacy of the language of cinema
