For the fund determinants and the “Brother's Manaki” fund
Milton and Janaki Manaki were the first Balkan’s cinematographers, moviemakers, photographers, craftsmen, members of the society elite. They laid the foundations of the Balkan’s photography and cinematography, beginning with their work at the end of the XIX century. They were witness of the stormy political events of the territory of geographical Macedonia in the XX century, and they showed wider cultural vision and dimension in the field of photography exceeding the level of studio work, for commercial needs of the citizens, typical for their colleague’s craftsmen. Furthermore, they were dedicated to outdoors photographing, and their work, today, is priceless in value because of the different segments of the society shown on their photographs. Their work has been the subject of many scientific studies from the field of culture, arts, and history from researchers from Europe and all around the world.
The value of the photography today is multilevel: cultural and historical, but also for other scientifically and society needs. Apart from the written archival materials which directly speak for a certain event, the authentic photography is always a witness for the event that is directly shown on it. Therefore, it is significant as a historical source and as an archive material. The biggest part of the Manaki brothers’ legacy today is kept in The State Archives - Bitola department (documents, negatives, positives, and equipment). The movies of the Manaki brothers are kept in The Cinemateque of the Republic of North Macedonia.
The number of the archive collection MANAKI BROTHERS - BITOLA, kept in the State Archive - Bitola Department, is 580. The collection consist of 23 boxes: 6 of them are with documentation from the members of the Manaki family (biographical materials, personal documents, letters, estate documents, books from their photographic and cinematographic work etc.). The rest 17 boxes contain photographs made by the Manaki brothers.
The total number of photographs (positives – paper prints) in this collection is around 10 000. There are around 7 000 glass negatives and most of them have description. There are also around 3000 pieces rolls and plan film negatives. Part of the collection is 49 units of photographic and cinematographic equipment.
The passing of time – Does it increase the value of the witness of the history, or does it kill it? (The need for preservation of the historical source)
The archival materials are constantly exposed to external forces, no matter how good the environment for storing them is. The material is susceptible to chemical processes which decrease its quality. This is particular more enhanced for the photographs which need special conditions for storing due to its specific physical and chemical attributes. The constant physical manipulation with the original material increases the risk of damaging it. Knowing the fact that the collection “MANAKI BROTHERS” is the most explored collection, by the researches from all over the Balkans and beyond—a right given to them by law, then the risk for it are greater. Eventually, the age of the material is an additional risk factor that should be considered. That is why there is necessary need to digitize the whole legacy of the Manaki brothers and preserving the original archive material, which is priceless. That is why there is a need for the Time Stand Still.
Aim of the project
Our main goal is the complete digitization of the entire archive fund, including the original negatives, positives and documents. Full digitization will also mean protection of the original archive material. As a product of this process, a high-quality digital copy of the material will be obtained, which can be used much more easily, while the original material will be re-stored in new, modern archive boxes, which will provide much better protection in the future.
Skopje, 5.10.2022