Film Preservation & Restoration Workshop India 2026 (FPRWI 2026) – an initiative of Film Heritage Foundation in association with the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) to be held in Guwahati from November 21 – 28, 2026
FPRWI 2026 is the 11th edition of Film Heritage Foundation’s annual flagship training workshop on film preservation that is open to both Indian and international participants. The workshop is taught by a faculty of international experts from leading museums and archives around the world. This annual workshop has been conducted in different cities across India since 2015 by Film Heritage Foundation in association with the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) based in Brussels – an umbrella body that has 187 member archives from 80 countries.
This workshop is crucial to developing a resource of film archivists to save our film heritage and is the only one of its kind in our part of the world. Till date, we have conducted workshops in Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Delhi, Thiruvananthapuram and Bhubaneswar and trained 500 participants.
11TH FILM PRESERVATION & RESTORATION WORKSHOP INDIA 2026 (FPRWI 2026)
DATES AND VENUE:
Date: November 21 – 28, 2026
Venue: Assam Administrative Staff College
Jawaharnagar, Khanapara, Guwahati – 781022, Assam.
Film Preservation & Restoration Workshop India 2026 (FPRWI 2026) is 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), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Yale Film Archive and The Criterion Collection / Janus Films.
This 7- day workshop, open to applicants from all over the world, covers the complete range of the issues and topics required to work in the field of audio-visual preservation.
The curriculum includes both lectures and small group sessions on analogue film identification, repair and restoration, digitization and digital preservation and restoration, cataloguing, library sciences, paper and photograph conservation, programming, and much more. Classes will be followed by daily evening screenings of restored films from around the world.
MARTIN SCORSESE
“For over 10 years, The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project has been proud to partner with the Film Heritage Foundation on its effective and innovative Film Preservation and Restoration Workshops.
For the world’s cinematic heritage to survive, we need dedicated people with passion and knowledge to do this critically important work. It’s been gratifying to see a new generation with a keen interest in film history and the filmmakers of the past, and we’re thrilled that we can help those who are motivated to seek out this remarkable program so that they can learn the skills and develop the craft of film preservation and restoration.
Co-presented by the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF), the workshop affords future archivists the hands-on experience of working in the field of film preservation.
I want to congratulate the Film Heritage Foundation and its founder, Shivendra Singh Dungarpur on having the vision to create and maintain this outstanding program, one that continues to have a lasting impact on our shared goals of protecting and preserving motion picture history.”
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Course covers lectures and practical sessions in every aspect of film preservation including the preservation, conservation and restoration of celluloid, digital preservation and restoration, paper and photograph conservation, film programming 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 and the Yale Film Archive.
- Daily screenings of restored classics films.
- Participants will receive a certificate from FIAF on completion of the course.
APPLICATIONS ARE CLOSED NOW
FACULTY
- Marianna de Sanctis, Head of Film Repair, L’Immagine Ritrovata
- Rachel Mustalish – Sherman Fairchild Conservator-in-Charge, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
- Dr. Elena Nepoti, Film Conservation Manager, British Film Institute
- Joanna White – Knowledge & Collections Developer, British Film Institute National Archive
- Anastasia Kerameos – Librarian (Acquisitions & Metadata), British Film Institute
- Etienne Marchand – Multimedia Engineer, Institut National de L’Audiovisuel
- Brian Meacham – Managing Archivist, Yale Film Archive
- Zoé Rogez – Chemical Treatment Department, L’Immagine Ritrovata
- Lee Kline – Restoration Supervisor and Consultant
- Manuel Götz – Film Restorer, Character Film
- Dylan Cave – Collections Development Professional and Curator
- Robin Baker – Film archive, curation and marketing consultant
- Teresa Mesquit – Photograph Conservator
- Murchana Borah – Senior Cataloguer, Film Heritage Foundation
- Priyanka Shetye – Acquisition-in-charge, Film Heritage Foundation
- Pravin Singh Sisodia – Film Conservator, Film Heritage Foundation
- NurilHuda Khan – Librarian, 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:
- History of Film Technology
- Archive Management
- Paper Conservation
- Photograph Conservation
- Digital Infrastructure, Management and Digital Workflows
- Small Gauge Film
- Programming Classic Films
- Film Restoration Workflow
- Cataloguing and Access
SMALL GROUP SESSIONS:
- Film Repair
- Film in Serious Condition
- Film Identification
- Acquisition and Collection Development
- Digital Film Restoration and Workflow
- Open Source Software
- Video and Audiotape Digitisation
- Scanning Archival Films
- Preventive Conservation of Photographs
- Introduction to Paper Conservation
- Cataloguing and Access
- Moving Image Libraries: Collecting, Documenting, Inspiring
CERTIFICATION
Film Preservation and Restoration Workshop India 2026 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.
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 186 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
THE FILM FOUNDATION’S WORLD CINEMA PROJECT
Created in 1990 by Martin Scorsese, The Film Foundation is a non-profit 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 72 films from 34 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
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.
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.
THE YALE FILM ARCHIVE
The Yale Film Archive, a Member of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF), was founded in 1982, and traces its roots to film collections at the university dating back to the 1960s.
The archive contains nearly 9,000 film elements, including the archives of many prominent film collectors and hundreds of unique 35mm and 16mm prints and original negatives, part of a diverse collection with strengths in cultural and political documentary, canonical intentional cinema, and home movies. The archive’s mission is to build and maintain a collection of media in a variety of film and video formats; preserve original film materials in its collection by creating new analog preservation elements and digital masters; and present a rich, year-round slate of public screenings to Yale University and the wider community. The Yale Film Archive’s home atop Yale’s main library offers ten viewing booths, a state-of-the-art screening room, a film conservation suite with cold storage and flatbed film viewing stations, a poster gallery, and sweeping views of the campus.
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.
THE CRITERION COLLECTION
Since 1984, the Criterion Collection has been dedicated to publishing important classic and contemporary films from around the world in editions that offer the highest technical quality and award-winning, original supplements. No matter the medium—from laserdisc to DVD, Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD to streaming—Criterion has maintained its pioneering commitment to presenting each film as its maker would want it seen, in state-of-the-art restorations with special features designed to encourage repeated watching and deepen the viewer’s appreciation of the art of film.
CHARACTER FILM
Character Film is an Austrian company specializing in the digitization and processing of analog film, based in Vienna.
Founded by three partners with deep roots in filmmaking and archival practice, the company brings together over 15 years of hands-on experience in the field. Character’s primary clients are contemporary analog filmmakers seeking professional-grade scanning and processing of their work, alongside film archives, public broadcasters, and cultural institutions with irreplaceable analog holdings. The company offers high-resolution film scanning, wet-gate processing, film cleaning, and equipment rental — serving clients at the intersection of active analog film practice and long-term cultural preservation.
