In a world where digital content grows exponentially and data formats become obsolete overnight, few organizations face the stakes that the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) does.
Founded in 1939, the NFB is a globally respected public producer and distributor of socially relevant documentaries, animated films, and experimental cinema. Their work tells the story of Canada—its people, its cultures, and its history. But how do you protect a national memory that spans more than 85 years?
The answer: you own the archive. And for the NFB, that meant choosing a technology partner that didn’t just understand backup—it understood preservation.
The Challenge: Archive Once, Archive Right
In 2009, the NFB launched a national digitization strategy with a bold goal: never have to do it again.
Branded by the Canadian government as “We Open Our Vaults to the Public,” the initiative sought to make decades of films accessible to all Canadians—online, on demand, and in master-grade quality.
But this wasn’t just about scanning old film reels. It was about:
- Migrating millions of legacy assets (film, MOD disks, tapes)
- Managing born-digital workflows for 80+ projects per year
- Enabling cross-site production between Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, and Ottawa
- Supporting remote access while maintaining master-quality integrity
- Ensuring long-term sustainability and vendor-neutral architecture
The Solution: Miria by Atempo
From the start, NFB made it clear: this wasn’t a backup project—it was an archive mandate.
That’s why they selected Miria by Atempo, not just for its flexible data movement and storage capabilities, but for something more fundamental: Atempo understood the difference between backup and archive.
“Our goal was to be the owner of our archive. That meant no lock-in, full metadata control, and workflows that match how we work.” -Jimmy fournier, General Director of Technologies (CTO), NFB
Miria?
Open Format Compatibility: No proprietary lock-in. Everything had to be standards-based and portable.
API Access: NFB built its own internal interface used by 350+ staff—enabled entirely through Miria’s API.
Searchable Metadata: Assets aren’t just stored; they’re organized, described, and retrievable.
Collaborative Development: NFB worked hand-in-hand with Atempo to develop features like TAR support, object-level metadata, endpoint protection, and more.
“You may forget your archive. But Miria won’t.” -Jimmy fournier, General Director of Technologies (CTO), NFB
Resilience in the Face of Risk
In 2019, a ransomware attack hit NFB. Thanks to Miria’s cold storage and backup strategy, no ransom was paid, and no data was lost. Full recovery was completed within two weeks.
That same year, the NFB rolled out Miria endpoints and LINA workstation protection to strengthen its frontline defenses. Security wasn’t just a bonus—it was part of the architecture.
“With Atempo, I know our data is safe. I don’t even have to think about it anymore. That level of confidence is priceless.”-Steve hall, Director, Technical Resources, NFB
Multi-Site Infrastructure
Today, Miria powers a national ecosystem that includes:
- Balmoral HQ (Montreal)
- Vault Cousens
- Toronto Studio
- Vancouver Studio
- AWS S3 Cloud
This unified infrastructure allows for:
- Scalable archive across petabytes of content
- Redundant multi-copy and encrypted storage
- Seamless cross-site production and post workflows
- Real-time collaboration between departments and provinces
Why It Matters
(From Left to Right, Joël Brun, Steve Hall, Candice Desormeaux, Mathieu Sheey, Jimmy Fournier)
The NFB story isn’t just about saving footage—it’s about preserving truth. It’s about respecting creators, honoring history, and ensuring that generations to come can access the stories that shaped Canada.
Miria enables a living archive: one that supports daily production, integrates with metadata tools, and evolves with the mission of the NFB.
It’s not just about protecting assets.
It’s about protecting memory.
Looking Forward
As the NFB prepares for its next evolution, new initiatives are on the horizon:
- AI-assisted indexing for stock footage and archive metadata
- Cloud-native strategies with AWS S3 and Qumulo
- Expanded roadmap collaboration between Atempo and NFB
- Continued focus on open standards and cultural stewardship
Conclusion: Preserving the Past to Power the Future
The National Film Board of Canada has done more than digitize its archive—they’ve defined what it means to truly own one. With Miria by Atempo, they’ve built a resilient, intelligent infrastructure that safeguards not only petabytes of data, but the cultural identity of a nation.
Their journey proves that archives aren’t dusty vaults—they’re dynamic engines of creativity, collaboration, and public service. And with the right partner, the archive doesn’t just protect history—it fuels the future.
Because at the NFB, the archive isn’t where stories end.
It’s where they begin again.
Ready to own your archive? 👉 Book a Discovery Call to learn more about archiving with Atempo Miria.
