Films Division inrestoration act

FILMS: It is also setting up the country's first museum of moving images in Mumbai.

From the production of newsreels, news magazines and documentaries for the publicity of government programmes to the restoration of all archival materials (both films and audio), the Films Division has come a long way since its inception at the time of Independence.

Under the aegis of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B), the Films Division is the only privileged film-crew that travels with the prime minister, president and other senior government leaders to document and archive their overseas tours and even domestic official travels.

The media unit is now undertaking the restoration and digitalisation of about 8,000 documentaries, films and important audio soundtracks in its collection.

It is also associated with the construction of the country's first museum of moving images to be built in Mumbai in the next couple of years at an estimated cost of Rs 48 crore. The museum will host all equipment related to film-making, exhibition and restoration among others.

"We have digitalised about 6,000 films so far, and hope to finish the rest in the next couple of months. This has been our focus area for some time now apart from the museum of moving images that will soon come up in Mumbai," says Kuldeep Sinha, chief producer of Films Division, and also the chief executive of the Children's Film Society of India.

The Planning Commission has increased the outlay to the Films Division for 2008-09 by threefold to Rs 16 crore compared with the last fiscal, making it about 25 per cent of the total outlay to the film sector.

The Mumbai-headquartered Films Division, which was created to publicise the government's programmes, has about 800 employees spread across 10 centres. To sustain its efforts financially, the division also undertakes documentary and social message film projects from other ministries and government affiliates.

In 2006-07, the media unit managed to generate about Rs 6-8 crore from such projects and exhibitions.

The Films Division is divided into four wings "" production, distribution, international documentary, short and animation film festival and administration. With special attention to the northeast and Jammu and Kashmir, this year the unit has been sanctioned Rs 5 crore to make special documentaries for these two regions.