When the Past Looks Present: A Qualitative Study of Engagement and Perceived Authenticity Across Three Digital Versions of an Archival Film

Digital treatments of archival film can make historical images more accessible while changing how viewers judge their authenticity. This qualitative study examines how viewers interpret different technological presentations of archival film. Sixty Turkish Cypriot adults viewed three versions of an excerpt from Almost Arcady (1930): a source black-and-white baseline (V1), a restored and enhanced black-and-white version (V2), and a modernized version incorporating colorization, selected-scene retiming, and limited audio treatment (V3). Participants viewed all versions in cyclic sequences and completed open-ended written questionnaires after each viewing. Audience Reception Analysis used Framework Analysis and was considered alongside a scene-level Comparative Version Analysis. Engagement preferences were distributed across the versions, whereas perceived historical authenticity judgments predominantly favored V1. Participants associated clearer images with viewing comfort and access to detail, while monochrome appearance and signs of age supported historical credibility or viewing pleasure. Family narratives, remembered practices, and familiar places contributed to personal significance, including nostalgic responses that could coexist with criticism of the film’s colonial framing. Some participants distinguished preferred viewing versions from those selected for preservation. The findings identify purpose-dependent criteria for audience engagement, perceived historical authenticity, and preservation within immediate comparative reception and inform proposals for transparent presentation of archival versions.