When you're asking the federal government for money, it pays to be specific.
The National Film and Sound Archive got quite niche with its funding request this year, and has been rewarded with pretty much exactly what it had hoped for.
The collecting institution will receive $9.3 million over four years to help preserve one of the most dangerous - and beautiful - parts of its collection.
Its extensive collection of nitrate film contains some of the most beautiful cinematic works and depictions of Australian life from the 1880s through to the 1950s.
Among them are the world's first feature film, The Story of The Kelly Gang, from 1906, World War I soldiers boarding a ship departing Sydney Harbour in 1915, The Duke of York opening Federal Parliament in 1901), and the Bodyline cricket series from 1932-33.
These items are particularly precious because nitrate cellulose film is also highly flammable, and generates its own oxygen when set alight, allowing it to burn for long periods, and even underwater.
Over the decades when it was the only form of film available, a number of cinemas around the world burnt down, and this irony - that an intense lamp was needed to project the film generating intense heat - is a plot point in numerous films, including 1988's Cinema Paradiso and Alfred Hitchcock's Sabotage from 1935.
But the archive's head of collection preservation Rebecca Coronel said the archive's aspirations for its collection were far less cinematic.
"It's a really intriguing material because it is quite robust," she said.
"It preserves and lasts really well if it's kept cold and dry, which is the environment that we want. But it is also really quite flammable.
"We want to build a facility that separates this material from the rest of our precious collection, but we also want to give it these fantastic conditions because it's a format that is beautiful.
"A lot of the early nitrate film is, for instance, hand-tinted, so it's got these glorious colours in it, it shows some of Australia's key moments in terms of moments from 1901, from Federation, and all these fantastic moments.
"If we can keep it in good condition, we can also digitise it, and we can make it available to everyone."
The archive holds more than 10,000 cans of nitrate cellulose film at its storage facility in Mitchell, which is nearly 40 years old and in need of urgent upgrades.
It's also reached capacity as the collection continues to grow.
Aside from expanding its own collection of Australian audio-visual history, the archive often receives nitrate donation offers from members of the public, who, when all is said in done, could well be holding onto potentially hazardous items.
For instance, the archive recently discovered rare footage of Australian cyclist and former federal immigration minister Sir Hubert Opperman, along with a Hollywood newsreel featuring Australian silent era actress Enid Bennett in an unmarked collection.
"What we are looking for is unique and new discoveries, and we feel like there are still some undiscovered nitrate items," Ms Coronel said.
"We also talk to people about items in their personal collections, and particularly with help to identify nitrate film and then help them make decisions about it.
"It is important that people store it safely, so we're always happy to provide that information and provide that advice because it's not something that you want in your garage at home."
