The Criterion Collection has acquired US rights to the entire archive; international film festivals including Karlovy Vary to host onstage interviews to be added to the collection.

Film critic Gideon Bachmann has created an archive of interviews with over 500 film directors, including Fellini and Pasolini, called Vox Humana - The Voice Bank.

New York-based The Criterion Collection has acquired US DVD rights to the entire archive, which features 800 hours worth of interviews and, says Bachmann, is “ideally suited for inclusion as bonus tracks on DVD releases of classic and historical motion pictures.”

Festivals including Karlovy Vary, Cinequest, Haifa and Bologna have also signed up to host Vox Humana sessions, which will involve onstage conversations with directors to be organised and recorded by Vox Humana with a view to adding them to the collection.

Advanced talks are also underway with Thessaloniki, Chicago, Torino and Sao Poalo.

The initiative is funded by the Cultural Memory Foundation of Switzerland.

Topics