Born in Bologna, he graduated from the Università di Urbino with top honours, with a thesis on film restoration. Having distinguished himself as an organiser of film events for a local film club, he began collaborating in 1984 with the Cineteca del Comune di Bologna. In 1986, together with Nicola Mazzanti, he conceived Il Cinema Ritrovato, a festival dedicated to film history and the work of film archives, now considered the most prestigious event of its kind, and of which he remains Artistic Director. On behalf of the Cineteca, he oversaw the creation of Italy’s first film restoration school, L’Immagine Ritrovata, which led to the establishment of the restoration laboratory of the same name, active since 1992 and now working with the world’s leading film archives, with branches in France, Hong Kong, and the Netherlands. Since December 2000 he has been Director of the Cineteca di Bologna, where he directly supervises publishing activities, programming, and distribution projects. He is internationally recognised as one of the leading experts in film restoration and has supervised hundreds of restoration projects including, to name only a few, the complete works of Charlie Chaplin and masterpieces by Fellini, Leone, Visconti, Bertolucci, and Rosi. He played a leading role in the creation of ACE (Association des Cinémathèques Européennes) and was among the founders of Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project. In 1997 he was awarded by the French State the title of Chevalier des Arts et Lettres, later becoming Officier des Arts et Lettres in 2022, and in 2008 he was also awarded the Ordre national du Mérite. In 2014 he received the prestigious Silver Medallion, the Telluride festival’s recognition for commitment to the preservation and promotion of film heritage. In 2022 he joined the Conseil de Surveillance of Société Pathé SAS.