Established in 1991, the National Fim Archive and Video Centre is charged with preserving the Lao film and video heritage. It has a staffing complement of 21 and is divided into four sections: film and video production, film archives, film exhibition, and administration. At the time of writing the Centre is preparing to move from its modest former premises in Ban Simuang into a brand new, purpose-built two-storey facility constructed on the same site with Vietnamese grant aid. The new centre incorporates a 36.5m long, 12m high climatised film vault which will keep films at a constant temperature of 10° C and 35 per cent relative humidity. The holdings of the National Fim Archive and Video Centre currently comprise some 15,000 reels of film, making up just under 2,000 film titles in both 16mm and 35mm format, with a ratio of approximately 50 per cent Lao and 50 per cent foreign film; the latter group includes a large number of Vietnamese war documentaries and Soviet Union films. To date some 50 per cent of the entire collection (including all of the Lao films) has been catalogued, each with a summary of content. An additional 1,132 reels of Lao war film previously stored for safe keeping at the Việt Nam Film Institute in Hà Nội, have just been repatriated to Laos. These films, many of them original cuts, were moved to Việt Nam during the resistance war because they could not be stored in the caves at Viengsay. The Vietnamese government has wanted to return them for many years, but up to now the inadequacy of facilities in Vientiane had precluded this. The National Fim Archive and Video Centre recently acquired some 3,000 reels of films from the Luang Prabang and Houaphanh Provincial Services of Information and Culture, and it is believed that more historic film footage still resides in other provinces such as Savannakhet, Xieng Khouang and Champassak. The plan is to eventually bring all the films to Vientiane for cataloguing and preservation. Regrettably, due to poor storage before they were brought to the Centre in 1991, some 40 per cent of the films stored at the National Film Archive and Video Centre are damaged by bacterial fungi and mould, and a further 5 per cent are suffering from ‘vinegar syndrome’ (chemical breakdown due to high heat and humidity). To date restoration has consisted of splicing some broken films and cleaning footage with solvent. The Centre is keen to identify funds for staff training in film restoration and archival work and for the creation of a dedicated film restoration laboratory. The National Film Archive and Video Centre is an institutional member of SEAPAVAA and its Director, Mr Bounchao Phichit, has been an active SEAPAVAA council member since 1992. The Centre also maintains close links with other film archives in the Asia Pacific region, eg Screen West Australia, the National Film Archive of Thailand, the Việt Nam Film Institute, the Philippines Information Agency, the Singapore and Malaysia Film Archives and the Fukuoka Film Archives.