The Arsenal: Communicating international film culture in a lively manner is both the aim and mission of Arsenal – Institute for Film and Video Art. Working at the point where practice and theory come together, the institute comprises a space for thinking outside the box in (film) cultural terms, a cinema whose attention is focused on independent and experimental film and a communication platform for promoting dynamic exchange between film, academia and art linked to a whole network of different organizations. The film collection is a mirror of the institution’s curatorial practice. An important part of the film holdings originate from the programming of the Berlinale Forum that is organized by Arsenal since its beginning in 1971, and the Berlinale Forum Expanded since 2006. Since 2011 the Arsenal has become increasingly dedicated to archival work. How the collection is treated remains as unorthodox as always. A film only gets meaning by being seen and remembered, not just after being restored, but already at the stage in which the decision is made as to what to do with it. For this reason, at the Arsenal every user of the archive is potentially an archivist. It is Arsenal’s policy that preservation projects also serve the purpose of making the films available in the country of production.