In a move to bolster film preservation across borders, India ‘s Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) is teaming with French diplomatic missions in India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives on a two-year project dubbed FISCH (France-India-Sri Lanka Cine Heritage). Supported by the French Embassy and the French Institute in India, alongside the French Embassy in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, the project spans over two years with a focus on training, film restoration , preservation and outreach. The partnership has kicked off with a film preservation and restoration workshop, which continues till Nov.
14 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, southern India. The workshop, organized with the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF), is hosting 67 participants for intensive training in film restoration and preservation techniques. The initiative features faculty from prestigious French institutions including Cinémathèque de Toulouse, Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé and Institut National de l’Audiovisuel (INA).
Among the project’s first initiatives is the restoration of the 1978 Sinhala-language coming-of-age drama film “Gehenu Lamai” directed by Sumitra Peries and produced by Lester James Peries. Eleven Sri Lankan participants will join the restoration effort, working alongside the Lester James Peries and Sumitra Peries Foundation. The project also includes plans for a permanent training center in Mumbai, aimed at developing new generations of film preservationists through annu.
