ICRC films
In 1921, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) produces four films for the 10th International Conference of the Red Cross hold in Geneva in the spring of that year. Why? To make the public aware of its activities in the aftermath of the First World War.
From 1921 to 1988, first on 35 mm film, then on 16 mm, 115 films are made, always with the same purpose. They are then distributed throughout the world through various channels, the main one being the network of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Some of these films are also broadcasted on television, in particular in Switzerland, the country where the ICRC was born and where it has its headquarters.
The ICRC’s film archives hold these films, the originals of which are deposited at the Swiss Film Archive. They have been saved thanks to the support of the Memoriav association. They have been digitized and are available on the ICRC audiovisual archives portal. When they exist in several languages, most of them are available on the portal.
All these films can be viewed and downloaded, in low resolution, from this platform. To download, you must first create an account. To know the what use can be made of these documents, please consult the Terms and conditions of use.
Since each of these films, even those that have not been edited or soundtracked, are of documentary interest, no selection has been made here.
In order to facilitate access, we gather them here by decade.
35 mm films
Note: No films were produced in the 1930s. When few films were produced in a decade, we have gathered them into a twenty-year bracket.
16 mm films
Note: When few films were produced in a decade, we have gathered them into a twenty-year bracket.
ICRC videos
After producing on film for more than sixty years, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) turns to video. First on videotape, analog then digital, and finally on file. If the technology changes, the purpose remains the same. Like film, video documents the full range of ICRC activities.
From the end of the 1970s to the present day, more than 4,000 videos have been produced. At first, they were distributed throughout the world thanks to the network of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and sometimes broadcasted on various European television channels. With the advent of the Internet, and then social networks, the distribution of videos has entered a new era and is reaching an increasingly wide audience.
In recent years, the vast majority of videos is intended for social networks. While their number is growing exponentially, the length of each one is decreasing in an equally spectacular way.
The ICRC’s film archives hold these videos. Digitized, or natively digital, they are available on the ICRC audiovisual archives portal. When they exist in several languages, most of them are available on the portal.
All these videos can be viewed and downloaded, in low resolution, from this platform. To download, you must first create an account. To know what use can be made of these documents, please consult the Terms and conditions of use.
Although all these videos are not of equal documentary interest, it was decided not to make a selection here.
Videos 1970-1989
Note: We have gathered the videos produced during this time period into two brackets, one of eight, the other of five years.
Videos 1990-1999
Note: We have gathered the videos produced during this period by three-year brackets between 1990-1998. A very prolific year, 1999 is the subject of a separate entry.
1990-1992
1993-1995
1996-1998
1999
Videos 2000-2009
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Videos 2010-2019
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Videos 2020-2023
2020
2021
2022
2023 (first semester)
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