Manila: Film scholars and archivists are rallying stronger support for the preservation of old films and audiovisual material in the Philippines and across Southeast Asia. The call was made on Thursday during the Philippine-led Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Film and Television Summit 2026 at Seda Manila Bay, which gathered industry leaders and producers from across the region, including South Korea, France, Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Malaysia, and Laos.

According to Philippines News Agency, University of the Philippines Film Institute associate professor Patrick Campos highlighted the lack of a dedicated statute in the Philippines to establish a national audio-visual archive. Current preservation efforts exist only as projects under various development agencies or as programs sustained on annual appropriations. Campos emphasized that a film archive requires custody measured in decades, given that Philippine cinema is now over 100 years old.

Campos also stressed the importance of strengthening institutions and film education to sustain what he referred to as "archival relay," which involves the continuous process of keeping a film alive, from preservation to public access. He encouraged stakeholders to establish an archival network on a regional level instead of building a central vault for such materials. He stated, "National archives are important, but we can begin thinking about a vital regional archival network, endeavoring to care for a regional and not just national memory."

The summit, organized by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) in collaboration with the Asian Film Alliance Network (AFAN), aims to foster dialogue and potential collaborative initiatives to strengthen the Asian screen ecosystem. It seeks to drive conversation on film archiving and education. FDCP Chairperson Jose Javier Reyes emphasized the importance of finding unity through media, stating, "It is finding our unity through media that we find ourselves as Asians as well. Let us see the importance of media so that we may truly promote mutual understanding and, hopefully, peace."

At a post-summit session press conference, Reyes expressed hope that the summit would lead to the creation of an "Asian bloc of creatives dedicated to film." He noted, "By knowing each other, it leads us to understand, cooperate, and collaborate. It is with the hope that with the various opportunities for conversation and discussion, these countries -- in terms of their cinematic projects, in terms of policies -- will get together and create a more solid and sustainable Asian bloc of creatives."

The event was graced by notable figures including First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, Negros Occidental Rep. Javi Benitez, and renowned director National Artist Kidlat Tahimik, among other dignitaries.