The New Zealand Film Archive have announced detailed plans to develop the world's first Mediaplex - a combination of archive, library, cinema, gallery and research centre for the country's film and television community.The New Zealand Film Archive have announced detailed plans to develop the world's first Mediaplex - a combination of archive, library, cinema, gallery and research centre for the country's film and television community.Archive Chief Executive Frank Stark described the planned facility as unique. "No other country in the world has managed to bring together its national film and television collections under one roof along with such a full range of public programmes and access facilities.

"It is vital that the New Zealand ensures that there is a broader context and an ongoing focus on New Zealand film culture to follow up on the interest and opportunities created by the Lord of the Rings and the world premiere of The Return of the King, Stark said.

The Archive's collections range from the first films ever made in 1895 to television programmes from last night. They include feature films, shorts, newsreels, home movies, video art and music videos, documentaries, advertising and education films as well as TV drama, comedy, current affairs, news and sport. It will all be on show at the Mediaplex.

The Film Archive was set up to collect, protect and project New Zealand's moving image heritage and Stark says it is extremely satisfying to see the essential third part of that mission about to be fulfilled.

"We have worked very hard for the last five years or more with the Government, the City Council and our supporters to create a permanent home for the collection which will finally open it up to the public."

The building, which has already been extensively upgraded to house the Archive's collection of over 90,000 film and television titles, will be open to the public in the first half of 2004.

The Mediaplex will feature:

a 120-seat cinema equipped for 35mm, 16mm and even 8mm films, digital and analogue video and a wide range of other audiovisual formats;
a gallery space featuring the work of film and video artists as well as exhibitions about the history and techniques of film making;
a free reference library housing over 10,000 titles from the collection on VHS video and DVD;
education facilities and programmes designed to bring moving pictures into the school curriculum;
a street-side video screen playing an eclectic mix of short films, old adverts, music videos and historical footage throughout the night;
a fully-staffed research centre to support the work of students, authors, historians and film makers;
a combined cafe, screening room and information centre with internet access and on-demand video viewing from the collection, all accessible through a massive digital video server.
The building combines high standards of construction and strength with large, uninterrupted floor spaces. It provides safe storage for the collections as well as an ideal site for developing and presenting public programmes on the ground floor and basement. It is located only a block away from Courtenay Place, the heart of Wellington's cinema and entertainment district.

From Saturday August 30 an array of video monitors, strategically placed around the street-front windows of the Mediaplex, will provide information about the Archive and updates on the progress of the building's development mixed with extracts from the huge variety of films in the Archive's collections.