The 7th Film Preservation and Restoration Workshop – an initiative of Film Heritage Foundation (FHF), Mumbai, and International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) – was held from 4 -10 December 2022 at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), Mumbai.
Despite the richness, and volume, of India’s cinematic heritage, it lacks trained film conservators who can preserve its vanishing film legacy. With no avenues available for training people in aspects of celluloid and digital film preservation, there is a dearth of trained film conservators. Film Heritage Foundation has been conducting annual film preservation and restoration workshops to address this gap and generate awareness.
Tata Trusts has supported the Film Heritage Foundation for conducting the 3rd, 4th and 5th editions of their annual film preservation and restoration workshops from 2017-19, held in Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad respectively. 81 fellowships were given to selected participants, including specifically to the custodians of the state film archives to preserve regional cinema.
These workshops have trained 150+ persons in film preservation, digital preservation and archiving practices, creating a local resource of trained personnel. For the 2022 edition, the Trusts continued their support by awarding ten fellowships for this edition to deserving candidates.
Some of the fellows previously supported by the Trusts have gone on to pursue postgraduate degrees in film restoration abroad, while others are employed at the National Film Archives of India. Also, notably, a fellowship participant from the workshop - Johnson Rajkumar - has been involved in the process of establishing the Manipur Film Archives at Imphal. He was also commended with the “Champion of Film Heritage Award” in December 2022.
Some highlights from the workshop are presented below.
