Skopje, 10 August 2021 (MIA) - Katerna Gabunija’s short film “The Birth of the City” is set to premiere on Tuesday within the first edition of the Cinematheque’s Silent and Classic Film Festival. The film is part of NIFC Vardar Film’s project “The Secret Archives of Skopje”, implemented with the support of the City of Skopje and the Cinematheque. It’s directed by Katerina Gabunija and edited by Martin Nikleski. The digitalization and digital processing was done by Aleksandar Trajkovski and Sashko Poter Micevski is the sound designer. “The Birth of the City” is a collage of digitalized 8 mm film strips provided by Skopje citizens, resulting in an emotional, fun, but also nostalgic film about Skopje and its people in the most important years of their lives. Youth, love and creating a home and family are key elements of the video collage. The project launched with public call for collection of 8 mm and super 8 mm strips and resumed with their digitalization and digital processing. A third part of the project has also been approved. Citizens who take part in the project, the Cinematheque said in a press release, will receive digital copies of their videos. Hidden treasures about life in the city have been uncovered in the home archives of Skopje residents via archiving and digitalization of old film strips, aiming to preserve precious documents that would otherwise be lost or destroyed.