Viacom18 partners with Film Heritage Foundation to protect cinematic heritage

Film Preservation and Restoration Workshop 2016 to be conducted from February 26 to March 6, at National Film Archive of India in Pune

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Mumbai | February 25, 2016

Viacom18 has joined hands with Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) for the second time in a row to save and uphold the legacy of India's cinematic heritage, after the first successful inaugural edition of the initiative that focused on film preservation and restoration.

The workshop titled 'Film Preservation & Restoration Workshop India 2016'will take place from February 26 to March 6 in Pune and will involve lectures, presentations and practical classes that will be conducted by leading international experts in the field. The workshop will be inaugurated by veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah in the presence of Sunil Arora, Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd., Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Founder Director of Film Heritage Foundation and Prakash Magdum, Director of National Film Archive of India.

The initiative brings together the National Film Archive of India (NFAI), Film Heritage Foundation and the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF). The two-day 'Film Preservation & Restoration Workshop India 2016' will provide training in film preservation and restoration to help safeguard India's cinematic heritage. The programme aims to not only augment the infrastructure and capacity of the NFAI, but to also build an indigenous resource of film archivists and restorers who may help save India's cinematic heritage in the future.

The initiative to preserve India's filmic legacy was conceptualized by Dungarpur, an acclaimed filmmaker and archivist and taken forward with the association and collaboration of Viacom18. Viacom 18 Media Pvt. Ltd. is a joint venture of Viacom Inc. and the Network18 Group. It is among India's fastest growing entertainment networks and a house of iconic brands that offer multi-platform, multi-generational and multicultural brand experiences.

Being a media conglomerate and a content creator, Viacom18 emotes with the need to preserve content created currently for the generations to come. Last year the workshops were held to create awareness about film conservation. This year they will strive to bring in expertise and access to information required to help the cause of film preservation at large.

Sudhanshu Vats

Extending support to the initiative, Sudhanshu Vats said, “We strongly believe that every enterprise has to be global and social at the same time. At Viacom18, we know for a fact that India is a country of storytellers; in fact, the largest and oldest stories in the world come from here. And so we realize how important it is to preserve our cultural heritage for the benefit of the future generations.”

“After a successful inaugural year,” Vats went on to say, “we have partnered with Film Heritage Foundation for the second year and aim to create awareness about the necessity and importance of safeguarding what is ours! We look forward to educate and interact with cinema enthusiasts during the course of the Film preservation and restoration workshop 2016.”

Dungarpur said, “After receiving a great response in the first year itself, we are back again with a longer, more advanced and intensive Film Preservation and Restoration Workshop for all those who understand the importance of the rich cinematic legacy of India and who wish to learn, explore and contribute to saving our film heritage. FHF would like to thank Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO of Viacom 18 for being one of the first people from the media and film industry to have the vision to recognize the importance of our cause and for Viacom's unstinting support that has made it possible for us to conduct the workshop for two consecutive years.”

The panelists on the workshop include some of the most influential names in the film industry from across the globe. This year the workshop will give practical training to help make able archivists, which is a dire need for cinema in India. The training should open up a career alternative for film students of many acclaimed universities across India by providing them with more in-depth knowledge on the subject.

The initiative strives to not only help preserve all language films in India, but also help understand the preservation of non-film material. The two-day programme will be a mix of technical workshops on the craft of preservation and lectures specially designed by David Walsh, Head of the FIAF Technical Commission. A daily screening of a great Indian classic is also part of the schedule.

Extending his support to the initiative, Naseeruddin Shah said "When Shivendra called me and requested me to be the Chief Guest at the opening ceremony of the Film Preservation & Restoration Workshop India 2016, I was very happy to accept. There has been a growing awareness about how much of our cinematic legacy has been lost over the years for various reasons and the urgent need to preserve what is left of it. I think it's great that Film Heritage Foundation and National Film Archive of India have come together with FIAF to conduct this important workshop to train people in the highly specialized field of film archiving which is essential if we are to save our cinematic heritage."

Workshop schedule and further details on: www.filmheritagefoundation.co.in

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