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Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd has joined hands with the Film Heritage Foundation to organise a workshop on film restoration and preservation in India. The workshop titled Film Preservation & Restoration School India 2015 will take place from February 22 to 28 and will involve lectures, presentations and practical classes on film preservation and restoration. The workshop will take place in Mumbai.
Film Heritage Foundation is a not-for-profit organization set up by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur in 2014. Recognizing the urgent need to preserve India’s cinematic heritage, the foundation is dedicated to supporting the conservation, preservation and restoration of the moving image and to develop interdisciplinary educational programs that will use film as an educational tool and create awareness about the language of cinema.
“As a responsible corporate citizen, we see this as a valuable opportunity to do our bit for Indian creative and cultural content. The 'moving image' is our raison d'être. This is the least we can do. At a larger level, we believe that our cinematic legacy is a key instrument of Indian soft power. After long, our country is returning to the centre-stage of global affairs with our Prime Minister's impetus on making India a 'Vishwa Guru. As leading participants in the Indian cultural industry, we see this exercise as our way of contributing to the same vision,” says Sudhanshu Vats, Chairman CII National Committee on Media and Entertainment and Group CEO Viacom18 Media
| A total of 1,700 silent films were made in India. Today, we have only 5 to 6 complete films and 12–15 film fragments in the archive |
| The film industry in Madras made 124 films and 38 documentaries in the silent era, of which only one film “Marthanda Verma” (1931) survives |
| After arrival of sound, 250 films were made between 1931-1941 of which only 15 exist today |
| By 1950, India had lost 70-80% of films, including the first sound film “Alam Ara”. |
| In 2013 India made 1,724 films in 32 languages. Of these, 744 films were shot on celluloid |
| Though India celebrated 100 years of cinema in 2013 and as the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2014, the NFAI can boast just 6,000 Indian film titles in its collection |
| Source: Film Heritage Foundation |
Currently, there is no full-fledged film restoration and preservation work being done in India. The usual practice in the country is to do a digital scan and clean-up, while ignoring the repair and restoration of the original source material. Most film laboratories have shut down their photochemical facilities that are essential for doing a quality restoration. “We are in danger of losing the original camera negatives of countless landmark Indian films if they are not restored on an urgent basis,” says Vats.
Viacom18’s involvement is not of a commercial nature as of now. It will provide the support needed to organise the workshop and lend logistics support. The workshop will see lectures and sessions by film artists from in front of and behind the camera, along with the screening of a classic.
Vats says, “This initiative is one step- possibly the first step- of a long journey that awaits us. For us to truly succeed in preserving our rich filmic legacy, three key stakeholders must work together. While corporates can pledge to preserve and restore older films and upcoming films and invest building capacity when it comes to their own archives, members of the creative fraternity - actors, directors - can spread the awareness about preserving films, within the industry and outside of it.”
He adds that the third pillar in the film restoration and preservation process of motion picture products has to come from the government. In his opinion, a robust PPP model to help preserve the quantum of creative output. Referring to a scale-up of preservation work with private sector involvement, the government can clearly stipulate film restoration efforts as one of the CSR activities permitted under the CSR Act- under the head ‘Protection of National Heritage, Art and Culture including restoration of works of art’.
“We’d be happy to develop this idea further with all stakeholders. We are keen on furthering this idea and taking it to the next level in whatever way we can,” he concludes.
