Why do we need to preserve films? Consider these facts published on the Film Heritage Foundation’s website:
A total of 1700 silent films were made in India out of which only five to six complete films survive today.
The film industry in erstwhile Madras made 124 films and 38 documentaries in the silent era, of which only one film — Marthanda Verma (1931) — survives today.
After the arrival of sound, 250 films were made between 1931 and 1941, of which only 15 exist today. We have lost even our first film with sound, Alam Ara.
Film preservation is directly linked to the preservation of India’s cinematic heritage; it is a documentation of the country’s history and culture. Realising this, filmmaker and producer Shivendra Singh Dungarpur set up the Film Heritage Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation based in Mumbai to work towards preserving and restoring India’s cinematic heritage. He talks to EDGE about the need for professional film restorers in India and what it takes to become one:
The necessity
India has a rich and diverse cinematic heritage that is over a century old. Yet we have lost a colossal amount of our film heritage and we continue to lose films every day. Films are an art form, a reflection of society and who we are and an important visual document of our times that must be saved for posterity. The preservation of our film heritage should be considered a national cultural emergency.
Restoration versus preservation
All films require preservation. If you don’t preserve films, you will have nothing to restore. Film is a fragile medium that can deteriorate over time and develop physical, biological and chemical damage. Preservation of celluloid film involves the storage of film in optimum temperature and humidity controlled conditions. It could also include copying the image from a deteriorated film base to a stable one.
Restoration, by definition, means the process of returning an item, in this case, a film format, to a known earlier state. It involves not just the repair of physical damage, but takes into consideration the intent of the original creator, the artistic integrity, accuracy and completeness of the film. It involves complex processes including research, selection, cleaning and various photochemical and digital techniques.
In India
What is currently being done in India doesn’t fall into the category of full-fledged restoration. The usual practice here is to do a digital scan and clean-up, while ignoring the repair and restoration of the original source material. There are labs like Prasad Film Lab, Ultra, Prime Focus, and Reliance, in India, who do digitisation and digital restoration. Most film laboratories have shut down their photochemical facilities. The kind of full-fledged restoration that was done in the case of Satyajit Ray’s The Apu Trilogy or Uday Shankar’s Kalpana, is no longer being done here.
Skills required
Film restoration is a combination of art and science. Some of the best restorers in the world are like artists themselves. A film restorer should possess a good understanding of not only materials and techniques, but also of the ethical guidelines on which restoration practices are based, and why they are important. Passion for saving the cinematic heritage and a love for cinema is a given.
As a career
Many countries have film archives, both government and private, that provide viable employment. Youngsters who are passionate about cinema choose the route of film preservation and restoration to explore their love for film. It could be an exciting career opportunity for those who wish to combine creativity, with a love for film and preserving its history. In fact, Film Heritage Foundation is looking for film archivists to work in its archive in Mumbai.
Formal training
Currently, in India, there are no formal diplomas or degrees in film preservation and restoration. We have started conduction workshops through the Film Heritage Foundation. In the long-term, we plan to develop a more permanent and long-term course in India. The foundation also organises ‘The Film Preservation and Restoration Workshop’ every year with the aim of training an indigenous pool of film archivists and restorers. The course is certified by the International Federation of Film Archives. There are also universities overseas that have begun offering graduate degrees in film preservation and film archiving.
Some established international graduate programmes in the field :
M.A. in Film Archiving, University of East Anglia
Film Preservation Certificate, Selznick School of Film Preservation
M.A. in Film and Media Preservation, Selznick School of Film Preservation, offered jointly with the University of Rochester
M.A. in Moving Image Archiving and Preservation, New York University, Tisch School of the Arts
M.A. in Heritage Studies: Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image, University of Amsterdam
Graduate Certificate in Audiovisual Archiving, Charles Stuart University, Australia
Moving Image Archive Studies, UCLA
M.A. in Film Preservation, Ryerson University, Canada