In 1955, UNESCO organized a series of consultations, under the chairmanship of Professor Paul Rivet, to further the work of the International Institute of Educational Cinema, which was previously attached to the League of Nations.

 

On the occasion of the General Conference of UNESCO held in New Delhi in 1956, the project of establishing an International Institute of Cinema and Television, presented by Professor Mario Verdone, Head of the Italian Delegation was approved. The project was entrusted to Jean Benoit-Levy, filmmaker and honorary director of the United Nations Cinema, assisted by a group of twelve international experts. The Constitutional Charter of the ICFT was signed on the 23rd of October 1958, and the leading federations and associations working in the field of audiovisual media became the founding members of the ICFT.

 

In 1980, with the emergence of new technologies, the Council, under Professor Enrico Fulchignoni, Director of Artistic and Literary Creation at UNESCO and President of the ICFT, decided to add Audiovisual Communication to the Council's mission.

 

Since the creation of ICFT, the presidency has been held by: John Maddison (ISFA), Jean d’Arcy (RTF-UN), Raymond Ravar (CILECT), Mario Verdone (CIDALC), Fred Orain (Production), Enrico Fulchignoni (UNESCO), Gérard Bolla (UNESCO) Christopher Roads (British Library), Jean Rouch (CIFES), Daniel Van Espen (Signis), Pierpaolo Saporito (OCCAM), Jean-Michel Arnold (Camera), Hisanori Isomura (NHK) and Ambassador Inoussa Ousseini (Permanent Delegate of Niger to UNESCO, Film Director).

 

At present, ICFT is managed by an Executive Committee comprised of Pierpaolo Saporito (OCCAM) President ad interim, Serge Michel (UNICA) Vice President, Agnès Ravoyard (SIGNIS), Isabel Danel (FIPRESCI) Executive Members, Georges Dupont (ORTF-TDF-INA-UNESCO) Director General and Treasurer ad interim and Xueyuan Hun (PCI) Consultant.