Media Heritage
Centre orders shutting down of branches of Films Division, two other cinema units by January-end Dec 14, 2021 https://scroll.in/latest/1012808/centre-orders-shutting-down-of-branches-of-films-division-two-other-cinema-units-by-january-end The government had announced last year that a clutch of state-run film organisations would be merged with the National Film Development Corporation.
The ministry had announced in December last year that these organisations along with the Directorate of Film Festivals would be merged with the National Film Development Corporation, which produces arthouse movies as well as runs the co-production platform Film Bazaar.
Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas (in a letter to I & B Minister) said that the National Film Development Corporation is registered under the Companies Act and “has to generate profit for its operation and sustainability”. He asked how it could “undertake projects and works of non-profit nature like preservation of archives of invaluable films, etc. and non-profit activities” being undertaken by the Films Division and Directorate of Film Festivals.
These activities were vital “for the preservation of [India’s] rich heritage as well as for promoting qualitative ventures rather than mere focusing on commercial productions or profits”, he wrote. “It cannot be measured in terms of money.”
“It is learnt that these entities have owned properties and other assets in almost all prime cities, that too in prime locations, and that those properties have a value of several thousands of crores,” he wrote. “The aggrieved stake holders are alleging that the real intention of the merger/closure is to slowly privatise the NFDC, once the merger is over, or to liquidate the same after a couple of years so that these assets can be sold or leased out for throwaway prices.”
Brittas asked Thakur to make the reports and documents related to the merger and monetisation of the assets public as well as the action plan to ensure that staff would not be retrenched.
How to protect India’s film heritage https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/how-to-protect-indias-film-heritage-7697189/ Amrit Gangar writes: It needs better preservation and archiving, not over-centralisation
India should have as many archival facilities as the number of states and Union Territories so that poor students from far-off villages who wish to pursue research can have easier access to not only NFAI’s collection of films, but also its books and other reading and viewing materials.
This could also be individually done by the Films Division (established in 1948), which is not only a production unit but also a repository of India’s history on analogue and digital media since independence. Most of India’s leading filmmakers, besides many younger filmmakers and artists, have made films for the FD, making the nation’s cultural and audio-visual heritage rich and palpable. These need to be freely disseminated among people by preserving them carefully and compassionately. No private entrepreneur would have ventured into this realm as it would not be a good “commercial” proposition for him.
CFSI, NFAI, DFF .. All these bodies under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting function individually as well as in coordination, each carrying its own history, recording the many national ups and downs as public services with no domineering monetary or profit motive.
How about setting up an umbrella Chalachitra Academy? The only state that has one is Kerala which effectively and efficiently manages all film-related activities under the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy. Such an umbrella academy would