WEI Yizhou 韦怡舟
Abstract
This article investigates the concept of the educational film archive by examining its migration from Tainan National University of the Arts 国立台南艺术大学 (TNNUA) to Xiamen University 厦门大学 (XMU), using this case as a lens to explore the prospects for developing a decentralized model of film preservation in the Sinophone world. The article begins by tracing the historical development of film preservation institutions on a global scale and then analyzes the centralized preservation system in mainland China, highlighting how its state-led structure and politicized institutional framework have constrained both public access and the diversification of preservation practices. On this basis, the article turns to TNNUA, where an educational film archive took shape within the context of democratization and social movements in the late 1980s. Through this process, three interrelated paradigms—technical, cultural, and pedagogical—were formed, illustrating a dual trajectory combining social intervention via documentary filmmaking and historical reconstruction through film preservation. Furthermore, the article examines the conceptual migration of this model to the Film Archive Studies Center 音像文献中心at XMU, revealing a shift in focus from a culturally driven paradigm to a more technocentric orientation. Additionally, the article explores how informal networks of private collectors offer a subtle form of resistance to the state’s archival monopoly. Overall, the article contends that while centralized control continues to dominate film preservation in mainland China, preservation efforts led by educational institutions may open up alternative pathways, anchored in cultural empowerment and social participation, to envision a more pluralistic and decentralized archival future in the Sinophone context.