Film Heritage Foundation

Film Heritage Foundation
Founded2014
FounderShivendra Singh Dungarpur
TypeNon-profit organization
PurposeFilm preservation, restoration and archiving
Location
Websitefilmheritagefoundation.co.in

Film Heritage Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to film preservation, restoration and archiving of India’s film heritage.[1] It is based in Mumbai, India.

History

The Film Heritage Foundation was founded in 2014 by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur.[2][3]

The foundation’s activities include conservation and archiving of films and film-related memorabilia, film restoration, training and education, film curation, public outreach, and advocacy.[4][5] It also runs education and training programmes and holds workshops on film conservation and preservation and restoration around India.[6][7]

In April 2015, it was accepted as an associate member of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF). Dungarpur has been elected four times as a member of the Executive Committee of FIAF.[8] The same year, it raised funds for their film preservation and restoration workshop as well as from private businesses and Bollywood actors.[9]

Martin Scorsese’s The Film Foundation lent their support for Film Heritage Foundation’s first film preservation and restoration workshop in Mumbai.[10][11] In 2017, Tata Trusts supported the foundation with a three-year grant in 2017 to provide scholarships for participants at their annual film preservation and restoration workshops.[12]

In 2018, the foundation initiated an oral history project, in which it interviewed eminent film personalities such as Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Mani Ratnam, Amitabh Bachchan, Soumitra Chatterjee, Goutam Ghose and Aparna Sen.[13][14] In 2019, it received the memorabilia of the Indian actor Raj Kapoor for preservation.[15]

On June 14, 2024, India Post released a postal Special Cover and cancellation stamp in celebration of the foundation's work in preserving and restoring India's cinematic legacy over a decade. Renowned filmmaker Shyam Benegal, lyricist Gulzar, and the chief postmaster generals of Maharashtra and Mumbai presided over the event.[16][17]

It has partnered with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for an oral history program covering film heritage in India.[18]

Preservation and archiving

Film collection

The foundation currently has around 500 titles (approx. 7500 film reels) on 35 mm, 16 mm, Super 8 and 8 mm formats from the earliest days of cinema and from all regions. Besides feature films, the collections include important historical footage dating from the 1930s and ‘40s, including footage of the freedom movement and rare home movies of the pre-Independence era that are preserved in a temperature-controlled storage facility.[19]

Archive of film-related memorabilia

The foundation also archives film-related memorabilia like posters, photographs, scripts, lobby cards, song booklets and artefacts of eminent film personalities.[20]

Films restored

Following are select films restored by the foundation:

Gehenu Lamai

Film Heritage Foundation restored Sumitra Peries’ lyrical Sri Lankan film “Gehenu Lamai” (Girls, 1978) in association with the Lester James Peries and Sumitra Peries Foundation restored under the aegis of FISCH: France- India – Sri Lanka Cine Heritage – Saving Film Across Borders – an international collaboration between FHF, French Embassy in India / Ambassade de France en Inde the Ambassade de France à Sri Lanka et aux Maldives;[21][22]

The world premiere of FHF's restoration of Sumitra Peries' 1978 landmark film 'Gehenu Lamai' at the Festival de Cannes on …….. was a proud and emotional moment, marked by the presence of lead actress Wasanthi Chathurani, actor Ajith Jinadasa, and actress Shyama Ananda, Film Heritage Foundation director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur and Gerald Duchaussoy, Head of Cannes Classics. Present in the audience were Gayathri Mustachi, Chairperson of the Lester James Peries and Sumitra Peries Foundation, Sudath Mahaadivulwewa, Chairman of the National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka, Dammith Fonseka of the Gamini Fonseka Foundation and Mathieu Bejot of the French Institute in India.[23][24]

ARANYER DIN RATRI

The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project in collaboration with Film Heritage Foundation, Janus Films, and the Criterion Collection restored Satyajit Ray’s film “Aranyer Din Ratri” (1970). The restored film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival 2025.[25]

A constellation of stars walked the red carpet at Cannes on May 19, 2025 for the premiere of the restored “Aranyer Din Ratri” including acclaimed filmmaker Wes Anderson, actresses Sharmila Tagore and Simi Garewal along with FHF Director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Margaret Bodde of The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, Peter Becker and Fumiko Takagi of The Criterion Collection / Janus Films and Agni Dutta and Piyali Roy from the producer’s family. The screening of the film was introduced by Wes Anderson, Sharmila Tagore, Simi Garewal and FHF Director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur.[26][27]

Do Bigha Zamin

Bimal Roy’s film “Do Bigha Zamin” was restored by The Criterion Collection and Janus Films in collaboration with Film Heritage Foundation. The world premiere of Bimal Roy’s restored “Do Bigha Zamin” (1953) took place at the Venice Film Festival on September 4, 2025 with 21 members of the Bimal Roy family - three generations ranging from the ages of 83 to 8 - helmed by the three children of the renowned filmmaker - Rinki Roy Bhattacharya, Aparajita Roy Sinha and Joy Bimal Roy who travelled from all over the world to attend the premiere of the film.[28] The film was presented along with the Venice Film Festival Director Alberto Barbera and Oscar-winning filmmaker and President of the International Jury of the festival Alexander Payne with FHF Director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur and the restoration team from L’Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna attended the screening at the Sala Corinto.[29]

Film programming and film festivals

Bachchan Back to the Beginning Film Festival

In 2022, 11 Amitabh Bachchan films were screened as part of the "Bachchan Back to the Beginning" festival in 17 Indian cities.[30][31]

In 2023, four of these films were shown at the 70th Sydney Film Festival. Subsequently, the foundation co-presented nine films at the 45th edition of the Festival des 3 Continents in Nantes, France.[32]

Dilip Kumar - Hero of Heroes Film Festival

In 2022, in honour of Dilip Kumar's birth centennial, Film Heritage Foundation and PVR Cinemas collaborated to screen 4 of the actor's iconic movies: Aan, Devdas, Ram Aur Shyam, and Shakti.[33]

An Indian Autumn at the Festival des 3 Continents in France

Film Heritage Foundation partnered with Festival des 3 Continents to co-present a retrospective of 14 classics of Indian Cinema at the 44th edition of the festival.[34][35]

Dev Anand @ 100 - Forever Young Film Festival

To mark Dev Anand's 100th birthday on September 26, 2023, Film Heritage Foundation and National Film Archive of India, in collaboration with PVR INOX, presented "Dev Anand@100 - Forever Young" - a weekend festival of four Dev Anand milestone films in cinemas in 30 cities.[36]

Cinema Italian Style – Celebrating Tornatore and the Masters of Italian Cinema

‘Cinema Italian Style – Celebrating Tornatore and the Masters of Italian Cinema,’ a film festival showcasing restored Italian classics was organised in 2024. Giuseppe Tornatore, Oscar-winning director of Cinema Paradiso (1988) visited Mumbai as part of the festival.[37][38]

Raj Kapoor 100 – Celebrating a Century of the Greatest Showman

In 2024, “Raj Kapoor 100 – Celebrating the Centenary of the Greatest Showman,” a special festival was hosted where ten Raj Kapoor films were screened in 40 cities across India.[39][40]

Wim Wenders – King of the Road – The India Tour

In 2025, Wim Wenders visited India for the first time and presented the retrospective.[41] His 18 films were screened in Mumbai, Pune, Thiruvananthapuram, Kolkata, and Delhi. First-come, first-served screenings are open to the public.[42][43]

Training programmes

The foundation has been conducting film preservation and restoration workshops in collaboration with the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) in India since 2015.[19] It held the first in the series of short workshops with David Walsh and Mick Newnham in March, 2018.

In 2018, it organized an event headlined by visual artist Tacita Dean and film director Christopher Nolan in Mumbai.[44]

In March 2019, it conducted a workshop in Kathmandu to save Nepal’s audiovisual heritage with FIAF and the Nepal Film Development Board.[45][46][47]

In 2020, it collaborated with the Goethe-Institut at Max Mueller Bhavan Mumbai to conduct a 2-day Workshop for the Preservation of Audio and Videotapes. Andreas Weisser, a conservation expert from Germany was invited to conduct sessions on how to preserve audio and video tapes.[48]

FPRWI

Film Heritage Foundation and FIAF regularly conduct the Film Preservation & Restoration Workshop India (FPRWI).[49][50]

The 7th edition in 2022 was an advanced course that was open to applicants from India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and for the first time, the Middle East.

Biennial Audio-Visual Archival Summer School (BAVASS) 2023

In October 2023, the International Federation of Film Archives and the foundation held the Biennial Audio-Visual Archival Summer School.[51] BAVASS 2023 hosted participants from several countries including 13 African countries, Greece, Germany, Belgium, Finland, Mexico, Thailand, and Vietnam.[52]

Film Archive in Manipur

On April 10, 2021, Film Heritage Foundation entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Manipur State Film Development Society (MSFDS) to collaborate with them and advise them on setting up the Manipur State Film Archive and Museum.[53] The foundation donated the first two rewinding tables to the new archive, which were transported by road in a journey that took 21 days from Mumbai to Imphal.[54]

Lifetime Achievement Award

Film Heritage Foundation instituted a Lifetime Achievement Award for Cinema Projection in 2023. The recipients of the inaugural FHF Lifetime Achievement Award were Mohammed Aslam Fakih from Regal Cinema Mumbai; Lakhan Lal Yadav from Amardeep Cinema and Raj Talkies, Raipur; and P. A. Salam from the National Film Archive of India, Pune. The award included a certificate and prize money for each recipient.[55][56]

References

  1. ^ Urvi Malvania (12 March 2016). "Film Heritage Foundation: Aims to ramp up film preservation & restoration in India | Business Standard News". Business Standard India. Business-standard.com. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  2. ^ Dungarpur, Shivendra Singh (5 March 2016). "The man who saved India's cinematic heritage". The Hindu.
  3. ^ "Bring back the past!". Deccanchronicle.com. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  4. ^ Malvania, Urvi (12 March 2016). "Film Heritage Foundation: Aims to ramp up film preservation & restoration in India". Business Standard India.
  5. ^ Raghavendra, Nandini (21 February 2015). "Film Heritage Foundation gets corporate funds to preserve old Indian cinema". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  6. ^ Bhattacharya, Suryasarathi (19 November 2018). "At Film Heritage Foundation's workshops, experts from across the globe aim to give new life to India's iconic works". Firstpost.com. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  7. ^ Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (22 August 2019). "Nagarjuna and Amala announce Film Heritage Foundation' s Film Preservation & Restoration Workshop". The Hindu.
  8. ^ "International Federation of Film Archives". www.fiafnet.org.
  9. ^ "Film Heritage Foundation gets corporate funds to preserve old Indian cinema - The Economic Times". Economictimes.indiatimes.com. 21 February 2015. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  10. ^ Chatterjee, Anupriya (11 May 2017). "30 yrs after PK Nair, Dungarpur elected to FIAF executive body". Pune Mirror. Archived from the original on 19 June 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  11. ^ "The Preservation Man". www.dainikgomantak.com. 12 May 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  12. ^ "The guardians of India's reel heritage - Transforming lives". Tata Trusts. 27 February 2019. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  13. ^ "On-camera accounts of legends who shaped Indian cinema to be archived - Times of India". The Times of India. 20 May 2019. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  14. ^ Uday Bhatia (9 August 2019). "The art of the unhurried interview". Livemint.com. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  15. ^ "Memorabilia of Raj Kapoor films passed on to Film Heritage Foundation - entertainment". Mid-day.com. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  16. ^ "Only Shivendra Singh Dungarpur could think of cinema beyond cinema: Gulzar". The Times of India. 17 June 2024.
  17. ^ "India Post Releases special postal cover in honour of Film Heritage Foundation". TheDailyGuardian. 16 June 2024.
  18. ^ "Viacom18 partners with Film Heritage Foundation to preserve India's cinematic heritage - Exchange4media". Exchange4media. 26 July 2017.
  19. ^ a b Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (19 August 2019). "A workshop on saving India's cinema heritage to be held in Hyderabad". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2020 – via www.thehindu.com.
  20. ^ Layak, Suman. "A man's crusade to save India's cinematic heritage from decay". The Economic Times. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  21. ^ Ramnath, Nandini (10 May 2025). "Sensuous, delicate, poetic: The 1978 classic from Sri Lanka that is set to make a splash at Cannes". Scroll.in.
  22. ^ "Film Heritage Foundation unveils rare reviews ahead of 'Gehenu Lamai' Cannes comeback". The Times of India. 16 May 2025.
  23. ^ "GEHENU LAMAI to be premiered at Cannes Film Festival 2025". lk.ambafrance.org.
  24. ^ "Gehenu Lamai: Restoring A Sinhalese Portrait Of Girlhood As Sumitra Peries' Legacy Returns To Cannes". Outlook India. 18 May 2025.
  25. ^ "Cannes: Film Heritage Foundation to showcase Satyajit Ray and Sumitra Peries restored masterpieces". Wion.
  26. ^ "Cannes 2025: Sharmila Tagore and Wes Anderson Talk About Satyajit Ray's 'Aranyer Din Ratri'". The Hollywood Reporter India.
  27. ^ "Satyajit Ray's 'Aranyer Din Ratri' to screen in 4K at Cannes Film Festival 2025". .telegraphindia.com.
  28. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (31 August 2025). "'Do Bigha Zamin' Preservationist Shivendra Singh Dungarpur Details Venice-Bound Restoration of Bimal Roy Classic". Variety.
  29. ^ "Bimal Roy's Do Bigha Zamin to premiere in 4K at Venice Film Festival". Wion.
  30. ^ "Film Heritage Foundation, PVR to organise film festival on Amitabh Bachchan's 80th birthday". cnbctv18.com. 1 October 2022. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  31. ^ "PVR to screen 11 Amitabh Bachchan films across 22 theatres in 17 cities to celebrate his 80th birthday". India Today. 30 September 2022. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  32. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (20 November 2023). "Amitabh Bachchan Retrospective Set at France's 3 Continents Festival (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
  33. ^ "After 'Bachchan: Back To The Beginning', Film Heritage Foundation planning a Dilip Kumar film fest on his 100th birth anniversary: Report". The Times of India. 12 October 2022. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  34. ^ "'Thamp', 'Kummatty' and 12 other films to be screened at 44th Festival des 3 Continents". TribuneIndia.
  35. ^ "An Indian Autumn". Festival des 3 Continents. Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  36. ^ "'Dev Anand @ 100' film festival kicks off with 'Johny Mera Naam', 'Guide' screenings". The Hindu. 24 September 2023. Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  37. ^ "Oscar-Winning Director Giuseppe Tornatore To Visit India For 'Cinema Italian Style Festival'". News18.
  38. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (9 September 2024). "Giuseppe Tornatore to Present 4K 'Cinema Paradiso' at Mumbai Italian Film Festival (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
  39. ^ "Raj Kapoor: Celebrating 100 years of the 'greatest showman of Indian cinema'". www.bbc.com. 14 December 2024. Archived from the original on 19 March 2025. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  40. ^ "Raj Kapoor@100: A grand show for the greatest showman". The Times of India. 4 December 2024. Archived from the original on 19 March 2025. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  41. ^ Indulge, Team (10 January 2025). "Wim Wenders embarks on his maiden King Of The Road – The India Tour". The New Indian Express.
  42. ^ "Legendary filmmaker Wim Wenders to visit India for a retrospective". Hindustan Times. 9 January 2025.
  43. ^ "Wim Wenders – King of the Road – The India Tour - Goethe-Institut Max Mueller Bhavan | India". www.goethe.de. Archived from the original on 27 April 2025. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  44. ^ Rosario, Kennith (2 April 2018). "Christopher Nolan in India: Celluloid vs digital cinema debate rages on". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 20 November 2020 – via www.thehindu.com.
  45. ^ "Film preservationists suggest regional archives because of India's diversity". 12 March 2018. Archived from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  46. ^ "P is for preservation". The Hindu. 7 March 2018. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2020 – via www.thehindu.com.
  47. ^ "Saving Sri Lanka's Film Heritage". Lanka Business News. 7 March 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  48. ^ Rosario, Kennith (23 February 2020). "Shedding light on audiovisual heritage". The Hindu.
  49. ^ "International Federation of Film Archives". www.fiafnet.org. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  50. ^ "Amitabh Bachchan, Martin Scorsese announce 7th edition of Film Preservation and Restoration Workshop". The Economic Times. 12 November 2022.
  51. ^ "Film Heritage Foundation hosts BAVASS in Delhi". The Times of India. 16 October 2023.
  52. ^ Delhi, Ravivar (10 October 2023). "विश्व फिल्म विरासत के संरक्षण के लिए नई दिल्ली में द्विवार्षिक ऑडियोविजुअल आर्काइवल समर स्कूल कार्यशाला का आयोजन". Ravivar Delhi.
  53. ^ "MoU inked for Manipur film archive". The Times of India. 11 April 2021.
  54. ^ "Manipuri cinema achieves milestone in preserving film heritage". Imphal Free Press.
  55. ^ "Film Heritage Foundation honours cinema projectionists in Mumbai". The Times of India. 27 July 2023.
  56. ^ "Amitabh Bachchan says it's important to recognise contribution of projectionists to Indian cinema as single-screen theatres' fate 'hangs by a thread'". The Economic Times. 25 July 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.