The two received their awards at a ceremony on Friday 11 October, where Elif was introduced by festival director Jay Weissberg and Catherine by film historian Paolo Cherchi Usai.
Jean Mitry Award for Eye’s Catherine Cormon and Elif Rongen-Kaynakçi
It is a joy to share that our colleagues Catherine Cormon and Elif Rongen-Kaynakçi have received the Jean Mitry Award at Le Giornate del Cinema Muto (the Pordenone Silent Film Festival) in Italy. This is a wonderful recognition of their lifelong dedication to silent film heritage. The international award celebrates individuals and institutions that have distinguished themselves in the conservation and study of silent film heritage.
By Eye Editors13 October 2026
Elif Rongen-Kaynakçi has been curator of silent film at Eye Filmmuseum since 1999. She has worked on the discovery, restoration and presentation of many presumed-lost films, often starring forgotten actors and actresses such as Rosa Porten, Sessue Hayakawa, Tsuru Aoki, Valeria Creti and Little Chrysia. She oversaw the inscription of the Desmet Collection (2011) and the Mutoscope & Biograph 68mm Film Collection (2025) on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register.
"Elif has joyously exploded the canon. She has sought out the people who have been forgotten, particularly the women who have been forgotten in film history."
Jay Weissberg, director of the Pordenone Silent Film Festival, on Rongen-Kaynakçi’s contribution to silent film heritage
Catherine Cormon has dedicated her career to working with analogue film. She started out in film editing in Switzerland, where she assisted directors such as Krzysztof Kieślowski and Jean-Luc Godard. When the industry went digital, she followed the film reels into film archiving and preservation. Cormon is currently Nitrate Registrar at Eye Filmmuseum and has worked at the museum since 2002, including as Collection Manager. She handles and preserves nitrate film, an exceptional material used in the early days of cinema. Nitrate is highly vulnerable, but Cormon is convinced that, with the proper care, it will endure.
"As a collection manager, Catherine has dealt with many problems to which sometimes we don’t pay enough attention. Here at the festival we talk about the aesthetics of films […] while behind the scenes there are people who deal with very concrete materials."
Paolo Cherchi Usai, film historian and curator, on Cormon’s contribution to the conservation and preservation of film heritage
Maral Mohsenin, Director of Collection and Knowledge Sharing: “We are very proud of this prize awarded to two brilliant Eye colleagues for their contributions to the study and safeguarding of silent cinema. Elif and Catherine have committed their professional lives to the safeguarding and discovery of silent film, and without their commitment, many titles would not exist today. This achievement also recognises Eye’s long-lasting dedication to preserving and making accessible its valuable nitrate and silent film archives over the years. The collection, covering the early period of cinema (1890–1950), stands out for its unique prints, international prestige and UNESCO recognitions.”
About the Jean Mitry Award
Le Giornate del Cinema Muto (the Pordenone Silent Film Festival) has supported the safeguarding and restoration of cinema heritage since its beginnings in 1982. In 1986 the Province of Pordenone established the Jean Mitry Award, an international prize for individuals and institutions distinguished for their contribution to the reclamation and appreciation of silent cinema. In 1989 the award was named in memory of the French film theorist and historian Jean Mitry, the festival’s first Honorary President. The prize is presented annually at the festival and has been supported by Fondazione Friuli since 2017.
Past winners include Kevin Brownlow and David Gill (1986), Eye’s predecessor the Nederlands Filmmuseum (1991), Lobster Films (1997), Tom Gunning (2004) and Yuri Tsivian (2005). In 2024 the award went to Bryony Dixon and Eye-curator Mark-Paul Meyer.
