Christian Dimitriu
Christian Dimitriu was Assistant Director of the Cinémathèque suisse (1981 to 1992) and later Senior Administrator of FIAF in Brussels (1995 to 2011). Born in 1945, he grew up in Buenos Aires. On leaving school he started studying at Lausanne University in 1964, receiving a degree in economy in 1968. His subsequent interests led him to the social sciences (and the cinema). He also ran the university film club in Lausanne, shot his first film and was a frequent attendee of festivals – notably Cannes. Following a five-year interlude in Argentina, he returned to Lausanne where he finished his studies in cinema and social sciences in 1976 and carried out research for the newspaper La Suisse in 1980. In 1981, when the Cinémathèque suisse moved to the Casino de Montbenon, he was taken on by Freddy Buache, with whom he was to collaborate for eleven years. Starting off as assistant to Buache, he became Assistant Director of the institution in 1983 and from then on played an increasingly important role in the development of this institution that found a renewed vigour in its new home.
He started attending FIAF annual congresses in 1983, when Buache decided to let him represent the Cinémathèque suisse on the international stage. He was elected to the Federation's Executive Committee in 1989 and became Vice-President in 1991.
After leaving the Cinémathèque suisse in 1992, he carried out several missions for UNESCO in various countries of Africa and Latin America, where he helped implement policies regarding the preservation of audiovisual heritage. In 1995 he was hired as Senior Administrator of FIAF in Brussels, a position he was to occupy up to his retirement in 2011. During this time, the number of archives affiliated to the Federation increased from 111 to 151. He put much effort into the integration of archives from Latin American countries into the world rank. He was also responsible for the publication of the Journal of Film Preservation from 1998 to 2011. The 2012 General Assembly in Beijing elected him Honorary Member of FIAF, in recognition of his impressive work record during the 15-year stint as head of the FIAF Secretariat. He attended one more FIAF Congress, in Skopje in 2014. He passed away two years later, as his contribution to the field was celebrated during the FIAF General Assembly in Bologna in June 2016. A new annual Fund providing assistance to FIAF affiliates who may otherwise be unable to attend FIAF Congresses due to financial constraints was named after him a year later.
Robert Daudelin, “Christian Dimitriu (1945-2016)”, Journal of Film Preservation, Issue 95, October 2016, pp. 23-25
Iván Trujillo Bolio, “Quién era Christian Dimitriu?”, Journal of Film Preservation, Issue 95, October 2016, pp. 26-29
