The Archive Centre includes 12m records from across the region

Former chief executive of the Northern Ireland Film and Television Commission Richard Taylor will take over from the first director Richard Cleveland.

The archive holds more than 50,000 films and videos from Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Essex.

Mr Taylor has worked in the UK film and television industry for about 30 years.

Professor David Eastwood, vice-chancellor of the University of East Anglia (UEA) - which made the appointment, said: "Richard brings a wealth of relevant experience to the archive, including work as a film editor and producer as well as a decade in developing public sector funding for the film and television industry in Northern Ireland.

"Of particular relevance is Richard's experience of developing a digital film archive, enabling wider access to collections.

"He brings to the post a clear-sighted vision of the ways in which film archives can develop as a 21st century resource. We are delighted to have secured his services."

The East Anglian Film Archive, the oldest of its kind in the UK, is housed with the Norfolk Record Office in a �6.7m purpose-built archive centre incorporating optimum conditions for the conservation of old film and video.