Annual looks at the best films from around the world.

In 1995, to celebrate the centenary of cinema, UNESCO worked together with film archives from 49 countries to "compile and publish a list of approximately 15 films each country considers to be representative of its most significant national cinematic heritage." UNESCO suggested that they consider historical importance and cultural/artistic value, but each film archive was allowed to define its own criteria to determine which films were important.

The films of each country are listed in the order of the source-pdf. These countries are included. Angola, Australia, Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Ivory Coast, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Greece, The Holy See, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, South Korea, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Macedonia, Ukraine, United States of America, Venezuela, Yugoslavia

These films or collections on the source-pdf are not included in this list, because they are not on IMDb: Canada: 
* A Selection of OMPB Films Produced between the two World Wars
* A Selection of Film Produced by the Government of Canada before the Creation of the National Film Board
* Royal Welcome, 8 unknown titles from the Canadian Cameo Series
* 4 unknown reels from "Shorts Produced at the London Headquarters of the Canadian Army during the last War"
* Animated Films of the National Film Board
Ecuador: 
* part of Obra Filmica Documental Miguel A. Alvarez (35 shorts are included so far)
* Obra Filmica Documental Karl Gartelman
Kazakhstan: 
* Two Days in Spring
* Baiterek


Afonso Malheiro in Quem Faz Correr Quim (1991)

List source (http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0011/001103/110379eo.pdf)

This list is also on iCheckMovies (http://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/unescos+memory+of+the+world+national+cinematic+heritage/).

Missing from IMDb:

Canada (these entries refer to multiple films and it's unclear exactly which films are included): A selection of OMPB films (1917-34) A selection of films produced by the government of Canada before the creation of the National Film Board (1923-41) Canadian Cameo Series (1932-54) Films by Maurice Proulx (1937-59) Animated films of the National Film Board (1941-44) Shorts produced at the London headquarters of the Canadian army during the last war (1941-45)

Ecuador (these entries refer to multiple films and it's unclear exactly which films are included): Obra Filmica Documental Miguel A. Alvarez (1927-35) Obra Filmica Documental Karl Gartelman (1970)

The Holy See (it's unclear exactly which film this refers to): Leone XIII (1896)

Kazakhstan (the original titles are unknown): Two Days in Spring (1983) Songs of Orynbasar (1983) Miracle Land (1989) Baiterek (1990)

UNESCO's Memory of the World: National Cinematic Heritage

UNESCO's "Heritage of the World" African Films

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