David Gascoigne, as President of the Federation, welcomed the official guests and invited the guest speaker, Mr Ken Comber MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister of Internal Affairs, to open the Conference.

Mr Comber spoke of the renewed growth of the film industry and how the Film Society movement had helped create the impetus for developments in New Zealand film culture.

Mr Gascoigne thanked Mr Comber for his address, and commented that the National Film Unit, the Conference venue, represented an expression of confidence in the New Zealand film making industry.

The President, Chairman and Secretary then gave their reports (but they are not available at the moment).

Included in General Discussion, the Wellington Film Society reported that a motion had been passed at their Annual General Meeting that a proposal for a National Film Theatre be prepared by their Society. Wellington felt that though they were providing the impetus for a National Film Theatre, they would be depending on a contribution from the Federation. Lindsay Shelton suggested that although this impetus should come from the Film Society movement, it was necessary to acknowledge that the movement could not undertake such a venture on its own. The Federation's principal activity would remain the provision of films for Film Societies; but the Federation would wish to be represented on the Board of a National Film Theatre, which would do its own importing. Such an institution would liaise with the Federation, and he hoped that staff and premises would be shared. He also pointed out that a National Film Theatre would provide no competition with existing commercial interests but would be complementary to them.

Clive Sowry was asked to bring the Conference up to date on his Archive work. He outlined his experience overseas, when he had visited archives in Britain and. Europe. He had found this experience extremely worthwhile. Since then he has worked, with assistance from the Labour Department TEP Scheme, on completing a list of the 4000 reels of nitrate film stored at Shelley Bay, detailing which film was in an advanced state of deterioration and would need immediate copying. The list has been forwarded to the New Zealand Film Commission who will be seeking the finance for this operation. Under the legislation which created it, the Commission is empowered to set up a trust to administer this work. Clive Sowry also described his discovery of a negative of a section of the 1901 Royal Visit film, which had been mistakenly spliced into a 1920 film. This is the oldest film known to exist in New Zealand.