FILM PRESERVATION & RESTORATION WORKSHOP INDIA 2024 IN KERALA!
Film Heritage Foundation in association with the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) is pleased to announce the 9th edition of our flagship training programme – Film Preservation & Restoration Workshop India 2024 (FPRWI 2024) from November 7 – 14, 2024 in Thiruvananthanpuram, Kerala. Applications were open to participants world-wide.
This initiative was supported by the Embassy of France and the French Institute in India and the Embassy of France in Sri Lanka and the Maldives under the aegis of FISCH (France-India-Sri Lanka Cine Heritage) – Saving Film Across Borders, Adobe Inc., The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, Prasad Corp., GAIL (India) Ltd., Kodak and Rasa Jaipur in collaboration with the Government of Kerala, Kerala State Chalachitra Academy and Kerala State Film Development Corporation.
After successfully conducting eight editions of the Film Preservation & Restoration Workshop India in a travelling school format in different parts of India since 2015 that has trained over 400 participants and created a movement for film preservation in India and the subcontinent, Film Heritage Foundation and FIAF bring this unique training initiative to Thiruvananthapuram, the cradle of the incredible Malayalam cinematic heritage.
9TH FILM PRESERVATION & RESTORATION WORKSHOP INDIA 2024 (FPRWI 2024)
DATES AND VENUE:
Date: November 7 – 14, 2024
Venue: Vyloppilly Samskrithi Bhavan,
Multi Purpose Cultural Complex,
Department of Culture, Government of Kerala,
Nalanda, Nanthancode, Kaudiar P.O., Thiruvananthapuram – 695003.
Film Preservation & Restoration Workshop India 2024 (FPRWI 2024) was an initiative of Film Heritage Foundation in partnership with the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) and in collaboration with The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, British Film Institute, L’Immagine Ritrovata, Institut National de l’Audiovisuel (INA), Cinemateca Portuguesa, Fondation Jérôme Seydoux – Pathé, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, La Cinémathèque de Toulouse and The Criterion Collection / Janus Films.
Audio-visual collections age, deteriorate, and expand exponentially in the digital age; therefore, it has become vitally important to invest in training, outreach, and assistance programs aimed at providing guidance to professionals whose responsibility is preservation and access.
This 7- day workshop, opened to applicants from all over the world, covered the complete range of the issues and topics required to work in the field of audio-visual preservation and will be taught by an international faculty of experts in the field.
The curriculum included both lectures and hands-on sessions on film, video, audio and digital preservation, film conservation and restoration, digitization, disaster recovery, cataloguing, paper and photograph conservation, programming, and much more. Classes were followed by daily evening screenings of restored films from around the world.
MARTIN SCORSESE:
“Over the years, I’ve come to understand just how vast the history of Indian cinema is, and how many different types of films and schools of filmmaking there are throughout the country. Some of the most remarkable pictures I’ve seen have come out of Kerala, whose cinematic heritage includes the work of Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Aravindan Govindan. The World Cinema Project, an arm of The Film Foundation devoted to the restoration, preservation and dissemination of films from around the world, recently restored two of Govindan’s films, KUMMATTY and THAMP, in partnership with Film Heritage Foundation. I was extremely happy to hear that Kerala will be the site of this November’s Film Preservation & Restoration Workshop India 2024.
The Film Foundation has been a supporter of this initiative right from the start, with the first workshop held in Mumbai in 2015. These workshops, co-presented by Film Heritage Foundation and the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF), offer an advanced curriculum encompassing the whole spectrum of film preservation, and over the years they have drawn participants from across India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, as well as nations in Africa, the Middle East, and South America. The workshops play a vital role in safeguarding the cinematic legacy of the entire world. In short, they are invaluable.
I need to acknowledge the partner institutions—the British Film Institute, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, L’Immagine Ritrovata, the Cinemateca Portuguesa, Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé, and Institut National de l’Audiovisuel—whose ongoing support keeps this essential enterprise alive and thriving.”
AMITABH BACHCHAN:
“It’s been nine years since Film Heritage Foundation in association with FIAF began a crusade using our annual flagship training programmes as a vehicle of awareness and change, travelling across the country, to train a resource of archivists to save our vanishing film heritage. We are very proud of these workshops that since 2015, have sparked a movement for film preservation not just in India but around the world, having trained close to 400 participants and built a world-wide network of film archivists.
I am so pleased that this year we are bringing the 9th edition of the Film Preservation & Restoration Workshop India to Thiruvananthapuram, to sow the seeds of a film preservation movement in Kerala, which despite its incredibly rich and artistic cinematic legacy, does not have an archive to preserve their precious film heritage. As Malayalam cinema continues to make waves around the world, I hope that the film fraternity, cinephiles and the government will remember that film preservation is about the future – saving yesterday and today’s films for tomorrow – and that this workshop holds the key to that door to the future.
I would urge all those who love cinema and want to work to preserve it for future generations, to apply now and join our movement to save our cinema.”
ADOOR GOPALAKRISHNAN:
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Course covered lectures and practical sessions in every aspect of film preservation including celluloid and digital preservation and restoration, paper and photograph conservation, film programming, disaster recovery and archive management.
- Superb international faculty from the premier institutions around the world including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, British Film Institute, L’Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna, Institute National de l’Audiovisuel, Fondation Jérôme Seydoux – Pathé, Cineteca Portuguesa and La Cinémathèque de Toulouse.
- Daily screenings of restored classics including films of Ousmane Sembène, Sergei Parajanov, Buster Keaton, Jean-Pierre Melville, Federico Fellini and Shyam Benegal.
- Participants has received a certificate from FIAF on completion of the course.
Legendary actor, director, producer Kamal Haasan, the advisor to FHF, urges people who care about the future of our film heritage to apply for FPRWI 2024 – Workshop to be held in Kerala in November 2024.
One of the finest actors of Malayalam and Indian cinema, Mohanlal, speaks from the heart about the colossal loss of our film heritage, including films in which he has acted, and the importance of preserving and restoring this heritage ending with an appeal for people to apply for FPRWI 2024.
FACULTY
- David Walsh, Training & Outreach Coordinator, FIAF
- Dr. Nora Kennedy – Sherman Fairchild Conservator in Charge of the Department of Photograph Conservation, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
- Marianna de Sanctis, Head of Film Repair, L’Immagine Ritrovata
- Marina Ruiz-Molina – Conservator, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
- Franck Loiret, Executive Director, La Cinémathèque de Toulouse
- Dr. Elena Nepoti, Film Conservation Manager, British Film Institute
- Joanna White – Knowledge & Collections Developer, British Film Institute National Archive
- Mike Kohler – Audio Conservation Specialist, British Film Institute
- Etienne Marchand – Multimedia Engineer, Institut National de L’Audiovisuel
- Tiago Ganhão – Film Restoration Specialist, Cinemateca Portuguesa
- Elena Tammaccaro – Executive Director, L’Immagine Ritrovata Group
- Samantha Leroy – Head of Programming, Fondation Jérôme Seydoux – Pathé
- Lee Kline – Restoration Supervisor and Consultant
-
Fumiko Takagi – Executive Producer, The Criterion Collection/Janus Films
- Manuel Götz – Film Restorer
- Bhavesh Pratap Singh – Deputy Manager, Film Preservation & Marketing, NFDC-National Film Archive of India
- Murchana Borah – Senior Cataloguer, Film Heritage Foundation
- Priyanka Shetye – Acquisition-in-charge, Film Heritage Foundation
- Pravin Singh Sisodia – Film Conservator, Film Heritage Foundation
GOAL OF THE PROGRAMME
The target audience for the workshop would be junior level film archive staff, audio-visual professionals wishing to learn about archiving, students studying media and related topics and individuals with a keen interest in audio-visual archiving.
Once completed, the participants will have acquired the basic tools to preserve and digitize audio-visual material and a wide understanding of issues and topics required to work in the field of audio-visual archiving and preservation. Additionally, participants will have become a part of a collaborative network of like-minded media archivists committed to the cause of preserving their cultural heritage.
COURSE CONTENT
The course has been designed to provide the essentials on a broad range of topics covering all aspects of AV archiving, and every participant will attend classes on every topic. Throughout the seven days of the workshop, there will be a series of one-hour lectures presented to all, coupled with two-hour workshops for smaller groups of six to eight people in a rolling schedule so that all participants attend every workshop topic. Participants are encouraged to use these small-group workshops as a collaborative opportunity to raise their own concerns and ideas with the teacher.
The course has been broadly divided into six major streams as follows:
- Digital Management
- Digitisation
- Photochemical Technology
- Cataloguing and Access
- Archive Management
- Film-related Material
LECTURES
- Film technology
- Film digitisation
- Preservation strategies
- Disaster preparedness
- Film restoration principles
- Digital infrastructure and management
- Digital workflows
- Digital technology introduction
- Digital preservation and born-digital
- Advocacy and funding
- Copyright and restoration case study
- Soundtracks
PRACTICAL SESSIONS
Digital Management
- Open source tools
Digitisation
- Soundtrack digitisation
- Film scanning
- Post-scan operations
- Film restoration practical demonstration
- Video and audio-tape digitisation
Photochemical Technology
- Film identification and selection
- Film handling and repair
Cataloguing and Access
- Cataloguing
- Access and programming
Archive Management
- Collection policy
- Archive strategy exercise (All groups exercise)
Film-related Material
- Photograph Conservation
- Paper Conservation
CERTIFICATION
Film Preservation and Restoration Workshop India 2024 is internationally recognized under the patronage of FIAF (International Federation of Film Archives). At the end of the course, participants will receive a certificate endorsed by FIAF.
WORKSHOP CATALOGUE
FPRWI 2024 : THE AV
PHOTO GALLERY
NEWS ARTICLES
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PARTNERS
ORGANISERS
FIAF
The International Federation of Film Archives (also known as FIAF, its French acronym), has been dedicated to the preservation of, and access to, the world’s film heritage since 1938. It brings together the world’s leading non-profit institutions in this field. Its 173 affiliated film archives in 80 countries are committed to the rescue, collection, preservation, screening, and promotion of films, which are valued both as works of art and culture and as historical documents.
OUR SUPPORTERS
FISCH: Saving Film Across Borders
A pioneering collaboration between Film Heritage Foundation, the Embassy of France and the French Institute in India and the Embassy of France in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, FISCH is an international endeavour dedicated to restoring and preserving cinematic heritage.
Spanning over two years, the project has three primary goals: to train Indian and Sri Lankan professionals and students in film restoration techniques, to engage the public through screenings of restored films, and to restore a significant Sri Lankan film.
The project emphasises the vital role of preserving cinema’s cultural and historical significance across borders. Through hands-on workshops, participants gain expertise in safeguarding cinematic works, while public outreach efforts highlight the importance of these efforts to wider audiences. By ensuring that films of the past remain accessible and appreciated, the project aims to inspire future generations and foster a deeper appreciation for the rich legacy of global cinema.
THE FILM FOUNDATION’S WORLD CINEMA PROJECT
Created in 1990 by Martin Scorsese, The Film Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and preserving motion picture history.
By working in partnership with archives and studios, the foundation has helped to restore over 1000 films, which are shared with the public through programming at festivals, museums, and educational institutions around the world. The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project has restored 58 films from 30 different countries representing the rich diversity of world cinema. In 2017, WCP partnered with FEPACI (the Pan African Federation of Filmmakers), UNESCO, and the Cineteca di Bologna to launch the African Film Heritage Project (AFHP), an initiative to locate, preserve, and disseminate African cinema. The foundation’s free educational program, The Story of Movies, teaches young people – over 10 million to date – about film language and history. The Film Foundation Restoration Screening Room presents monthly film restorations, free and accessible through any web browser. www.film-foundation.org
ADOBE INC.
Adobe is leading and defining the future of digital media and digital marketing. It gives everyone, from emerging artists to global brands, everything they need to design and deliver exceptional digital experiences. Adobe is one of the world’s largest software companies and ranked among the best brands with a global presence in 37 countries and 22,000 employees.
THE GOVERNMENT OF KERALA
KERALA STATE CHALACHITRA ACADEMY
In a pioneering initiative, the Government of Kerala set up Kerala State Chalachitra Academy (Motion Picture Academy of the Kerala State) in August 1998. The first of its kind in the country, the Academy is an effort to counter the gross commoditization of the film medium and a rightful recognition of the contribution of cinema to the cultural enlightenment of the society. It is guided by the motto that Cinema should contribute to the complete development of human being, both as an individual and as a social being.
The Academy today has become a major player in the cultural landscape of Kerala reaching students, teachers, and ordinary people through various initiatives designed to carry the message of cinema as not only a means of entertainment but of serious academic reflection and a tool to preserve and document the history of society.
Core objectives of the Academy include being a link between the Government and the film industry, the conducting of Film Festivals all over the State, the preservation and propagation of Malayalam Cinema, to intervene in film education, to document the History of Malayalam Cinema, the honoring of persons and films that contribute to the aesthetics of Malayalam cinema.
KERALA STATE FILM DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION LTD.
Kerala State Film Development Corporation Ltd (KSFDC), was established in the year 1975 with the prime objective of facilitating the production and promotion of Malayalam Cinema. KSFDC was formed with a purpose of moving the Malayalam film industry to Kerala. KSFDC was the organizers of the International Film Festival of Kerala until after which the management of IFFK was handed over to the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy in 1998.
PRASAD CORPORATION
Founded in 1956, Prasad Corporation is recognized as a global leader and innovator in the realm of Film Preservation. Our enduring legacy of excellence is marked by deep collaborations with archives worldwide. We are dedicated to ongoing investments in advanced technologies and progressive methodologies for Film Preservation.
This commitment has solidified Prasad’s reputation among global archives, fostering long-term partnerships to safeguard its cultural heritage for the benefit of future generations. As sponsors of the upcoming BAVASS 2023 event in Delhi, Prasad Corporation extends a warm invitation to explore the essence of preservation. Delve into our meaningful mission and learn how we can contribute to your preservation initiatives by visiting our website at www.prasadcorp.com #preserve4posterity
KODAK
Kodak Motion Picture Film & Entertainment – The technology that sets the standard and stands the test of time in the production, postproduction, distribution, exhibition and archiving of motion pictures worldwide. Kodak offers a wide variety of products, spanning the entire motion picture value chain from image capture to post, on through distribution / exhibition and archival applications. The advanced technology of KODAK VISION3 motion picture film provides the highest degree of image quality and creative flexibility.
RASA
RASA, the brainchild of Madhulika and Manish Tibrewal was established in Jaipur in 1998. They started off in the realm of fashion with a single block printer and a single pattern master. They soon expanded their operations to designing home textiles. Today, RASA fashion and home textiles are available at select stores in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, Japan and South East Asia. Beautiful block prints on silks, linens and specially woven fabrics are a hallmark at RASA.
GAIL (INDIA) LTD.
GAIL (India) Ltd. was incorporated in August, 1984 as a Central Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoP & NG). GAIL (India) Limited is India’s largest Natural Gas company and ranked among the top gas utilities in Asia. Their business activities range from Gas Transmission and Marketing to Processing; transmission of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG); production and marketing of Petrochemicals like HDPE and LLDPE.
They have extended their presence in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) re-gasification, City Gas Distribution and Exploration & Production through equity and joint venture participations. Of late, they have also diversified into solar and wind power regeneration. GAIL has installed India’s second largest solar roof top connected captive solar power plant at Pata Petrochemical complex. GAIL is setting up a 10 MW green hydrogen plant which will be one of the largest green hydrogen plants in the world.
COLLABORATORS
BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE (BFI)
Founded in 1933, the BFI is a registered charity governed by Royal Charter, a National Lottery distributor, and the UK’s lead organisation for film and the moving image. The BFI National Archive was founded in 1935 and has grown to become the one of the largest and most important collections of film and television in the world with over 175,000 films and 800,000 television programmes. The archive also boasts a significant collection of filmmakers’ papers as well as extensive stills, posters and production and costume designs along with original scripts, press books and related ephemera.
The films in our collections are a fascinating record of the history, culture and art of filmmaking and TV production, as well as a document of daily life in the UK from the late 19th century to today. Our collections are an invaluable resource for researchers, students, filmmakers and TV producers, and we share the collections publicly through screenings, releases in cinemas and on DVD and Blu-ray and online.
L’IMMAGINE RITROVATA
L’Immagine Ritrovata is a highly specialized film restoration laboratory created and developed in Bologna (Italy) thanks to Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna.
A solid film knowledge, a long experience in the field – always supported by careful preliminary philological and technical research – the most up-to-date equipment covering all workflows, from photochemical to 4K technology, as well as a vast and diverse range of projects, make L’Immagine Ritrovata a leading laboratory in the field.
Today the group includes four branches: L’Immagine Ritrovata’s headquarters in Bologna, L’Image Retrouvée and Éclair Classics in Paris, Haghefilm in the Netherlands, and L’Immagine Ritrovata Asia in Hong Kong.
L’Immagine Ritrovata is one of the main organizers of the FIAF Film Restoration Summer School, which has been taking place in Bologna since 2007 and will be held again in 2024. The school has been also hosted in Singapore (2013), Mumbai (2015), Buenos Aires (2017) and in Mexico City (2019).
THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world for everyone to experience and enjoy. The Museum lives in two iconic sites in New York City—The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters. Millions of people also take part in The Met experience online.
Since its founding in 1870, The Met has always aspired to be more than a treasury of rare and beautiful objects. Every day, art comes alive in the Museum’s galleries and through its exhibitions and events, revealing new ideas and unexpected connections across time and across cultures.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art collects, studies, conserves, and presents significant works of art across time and cultures in order to connect all people to creativity, knowledge, ideas, and one another.
INSTITUT NATIONAL DE L’AUDIOVISUEL (INA)
As a cultural audiovisual enterprise, INA has been responsible since 1974 for the preservation, enhancement and transmission of the French audiovisual heritage. INA is also an international training and research center on media and digital content.
CINEMATECA PORTUGUESA – MUSEU DO CINEMA, I.P.
The Cinemateca Portuguesa-Museu do Cinema is the national film museum of Portugal, a state institution devoted to the preservation and screening of the Portuguese and the world’s moving images heritage.
It was founded in the early 1950s by cinémathèque pioneer Manuel Félix Ribeiro, and became an autonomous institution in 1980. In 1996, the Cinemateca opened a modern conservation centre in the outskirts of Lisbon, which is now the base to all preservation, technical research and access activities, including the use of new technologies.
FONDATION JÉRÔME SEYDOUX – PATHÉ
The Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé, which was recognized as a non-profit organization in 2006, works to preserve, restore and promote Pathé’s historical heritage, which includes more than 10,000 films. The archives, which are regularly expanded, include several collections: iconography, advertising material, printed documents, cameras, objects, a library of books and periodicals, the administrative and legal archives of Pathé since its creation in 1896, and a silent film collection of approximately 4,000 titles.
The building of the Fondation, designed by Renzo Piano, houses a research center, a collection storage facility, a screening room dedicated to international silent film programming with live accompaniment, and exhibition spaces. The Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé also organizes multiple educational activities, visits, conferences and symposia.
LA CINÉMATHÈQUE DE TOULOUSE
Association law 1901, the Cinémathèque de Toulouse was founded in 1964 by passionate film lovers gathered around Raymond Borde. It has been a member of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) since 1965.
It is one of the three main French film archives and the second largest film library in France. Supported by the Ministry of Culture and Communication, the National Center for Cinema and the Moving Image (CNC), the City of Toulouse, the Departmental Council of Haute-Garonne and the Occitanie Region, the Cinémathèque de Toulouse is defined by the two fundamental missions that characterize any cinematheque: the conservation and dissemination of cinematographic heritage. Over the past thirty years, the institution has become more professional and now has 32 employees, spread over two sites: 69 rue du Taur (screening rooms, exhibitions, library, administration) and the Center for Conservation and Research, located in Balma.
THE CRITERION COLLECTION
Since 1984, The Criterion Collection, an important series of classic and contemporary films, has been dedicated to gathering the greatest films from around the world and publishing them in editions that offer the highest technical quality and award-winning, original supplements. Criterion’s library of director-approved DVDs, Blu-Ray Discs and Laser Discs are the most significant archive of contemporary film-making available to the home viewer.
JANUS FILMS
Founded in 1956, Janus Films was the first theatrical distribution company dedicated to bringing international art-house films to U.S. audiences. Janus handles rights in all media to an extensive library that includes the work of Michelangelo Antonioni, Věra Chytilová, Sergei Eisenstein, Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, Abbas Kiarostami, Akira Kurosawa, Ousmane Sembène, Andrei Tarkovsky, François Truffaut, Agnès Varda, and Yasujiro Ozu.
Janus handles rights in all media, and its library has grown to more than 1200 films.
TINTED MEMORIES FILM RESTORATION COLLECTIVE
Tinted Memories was founded in 2021 by film restorers Patricia Ferbeck-Reidinger, Andreas Kern and Manuel Goetz. The company is headquartered in Munich, Germany. We provide restoration services of all film and carrier formats. Our portfolio encompasses negative editing, mechanical and photochemical restoration, archival research and film digitization. We further provide workflow analysis, training and integration of the ARRISCAN film scanner.
As a collective we regard our co-workers as equal partners both within our company as well as at the institutions we work with. We hold high the dissemination of knowledge and maintain a long list of international partner institutions where we have given workshops of various natures.
