Viacom18 Partners with Film Heritage Foundation for the 5th Film Preservation & Restoration Workshop India 2019
The workshop will be conducted in Hyderabad from December 8 to 15, 2019. Viacom18 invites international participation from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan and will focus on training a resource of archivists in the specialized practices of film preservation and restoration.
Till a few years ago, most people were not aware that films needed to be preserved and that India had lost a colossal amount of our film heritage due to our ignorance of film preservation and restoration.
Viacom18, India’s Media & Entertainment company, and Film Heritage Foundation have been partnering for 4 years now, to create awareness for the pressing need to preserve and restore both films and film-related photographic and paper materials to future-proof our cinematic heritage through intensive training conducted through the annual week-long film preservation and restoration workshops. Over the last 4 years, the partnership has enabled these unique workshops to be conducted annually around the country, beginning from Mumbai in 2015 and then moving to Pune in 2016, Chennai in 2017 and Kolkata in 2018. Acknowledging the rich legacy of the Telugu Film Industry and the fact that Hyderabad is a hub for cinema from all over the country, Viacom18 and Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) announce the 5th Film Preservation & Restoration Workshop India 2019 (FPRWI) in Hyderabad. Esteemed actors Nagarjuna and Amala were present to announce the workshop along with Founder of Film Heritage Foundation, Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO and MD, Viacom18, and Shri. Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, Government of Telangana.
The workshop will take place in Hyderabad, India from December 8 to 15, 2019 and will have participation from India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and for the first time from Afghanistan. Applications for the week-long workshop will be open from August 25 to October 20, 2019. Application forms can be downloaded from www.filmheritagefoundation.co.in. FPRWI 2019 will focus on the need to skill and train a resource of archivists to take on the challenge of preserving and archiving film heritage.
Speaking about the 5th edition of the Film Preservation & Restoration Workshop, Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO and MD, Viacom18 said, “Cinema is an integral part of our country’s cultural DNA and we owe it to our future generations to pass it on. This is the reason why we have continued to partner with the Film Heritage Foundation. This time we have extended our partnership to bring our message of preservation and training in this specialized field to the Telugu Film industry that has been an integral part of Indian cinema and has given the industry a galaxy of talented directors, actors and musicians not only on a regional level but also for the Indian film industry at large. Eminent filmmakers like Raghupati Venkaiah Naidu, H.M. Reddy, B.N. Reddy, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, L.V. Prasad, D. Ramanaidu, Ramoji Rao and N.T. Rama Rao et al was not just revered across the world as film personalities but also shaped the discourse of socio-political culture both within and outside of India. At Viacom18, we understand and believe it’s imperative that we preserve and restore the work done by these great personalities.”