Hello, I'm El-Alshamahi, and this is the conversation from the BBC World Service,
the programme that amplifies women's voices,
which is just a fancy way of saying we find two women from different countries who share an expertise,
bring them together, and see what happens.
Today, we're going to the movies and talking about the craft of film restoration.
How have so many films been lost throughout motion picture history,
and why is it so important to bring those films, especially those by women, back to life?
Sandra Schollberg is the president of IndieCollect,
a non-profit who have restored over 85 films
since 2016 and rescued thousands of abandoned film negatives.
An Italian born, Elena Napote, is the film conservation manager at the British Film Institute.
She's worked on a diverse range of film restoration projects,
including a series of Sherlock Holmes pictures from the 1920s,
which were approved by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself.
Elena, Sandra, welcome to the conversation.
Thank you.
It's lovely to be here.
Thank you so much for inviting me.
Thank you, guys.
Why have so many films been lost or damaged over the years, Elena?