The opening ceremony of the workshop on ‘Moving Images: Preservation, Archiving, Digitisation and Restoration’ was held today at the NFDC-National Film Archive of India (NFDC-NFAI), Pune. The nine-day specialised workshop, being organised by the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, through its Centre for Open Learning (CFOL), in collaboration with NFDC-NFAI, will be conducted from October 5 to 15, 2026.

The workshop seeks to provide participants with an understanding of the processes and practices involved in preserving moving images, covering film identification and inspection, preventive conservation, film repair and splicing, scanning and digitisation, digital preservation, restoration workflows, colour grading, audio restoration and paper conservation. The programme also includes hands-on sessions with archival materials and equipment, institutional visits and screenings of archival and restored films. Participants will visit FTII, NFDC-NFAI, the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute and the Reserve Bank of India Archives as part of the programme.

The inauguration event witnessed the presence of key dignitaries and institutional leaders who emphasised the critical need for audiovisual archiving in India. The Vice Chancellor of FTII, Shri Dhiraj Singh, addressed the attendees by setting a philosophical yet urgent tone for the preservation mission. In his inspiring speech, he urged the participants to fully dedicate themselves to the task at hand, quoting philosopher Albert Camus, “If you really want to respect your future, give your everything to your present”.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Prakash Magdum, Managing Director, NFDC, highlighted the need to strengthen India’s archival ecosystem in view of the country’s vast cinematic output and diverse moving-image heritage. He observed that India has a long and rich tradition of storytelling, but the systematic preservation and documentation of this heritage requires greater institutional attention and a larger pool of trained professionals. Referring to the history of Indian cinema and film preservation, he noted that while Indian cinema began in 1913, the National Film Archive of India was established only in 1964, underlining the need to build stronger preservation mechanisms for the country’s vast audiovisual legacy. He stressed that the scope of preservation must extend beyond films to encompass moving images and associated archival material in their wider cultural context.

Shri Magdum further emphasised that the workshop provides an important platform for sharing the experience and specialised skills developed by institutions working in the field of film preservation. He said that such initiatives can help create a new generation of professionals equipped to address the scale and complexity of India’s audiovisual heritage and encourage greater interest in film preservation.

The inaugural ceremony was attended by Prof. Sandeep Shahare, Executive Head, Centre for Open Learning, FTII, and Shri Ravi Kiran Pala, Chief Archivist & Deputy General Manager, Reserve Bank of India Archives, along with experts and practitioners associated with the workshop, including Shri Rahul Patil of Cineom, Shri Sujit Suvarna of Prasad Corporation, and faculty and archival professionals from NFDC-NFAI. The workshop will feature lectures and practical sessions by experts including Ms Iyesha Geeth Abbas, Ms Leenali Khairnar, Shri Bhavesh Singh, Shri R. Murugan, Shri S. Venkatakrishnan, Shri Jaikumar Dasarathan of Prasad Corporation, Shri Amit Patil, Shri Jaikrishna Kunapareddy, Shri Ritajit Raychaudhiri, Shri Purab Gujar of Cameo Media Lab, and Ms Varsha K., Head Conservator, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. The programme will also feature sessions by FTII and NFAI staff on moving-image preservation, metadata, digital preservation, film inspection and repair, scanning and digitisation, colour grading and related archival practices.
The workshop is being led by Ms Aparna Subramanian, Course Director and Film Research Officer at FTII. A film preservationist and researcher, Ms Subramanian is an alumnus of New York University’s Moving Image Archiving and Preservation programme and has extensive experience in audiovisual and film archiving in India and internationally.

The programme brings together practitioners and experts from film preservation, restoration, archival and allied fields. Knowledge and supporting partners include Prasad Corporation, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute and the Reserve Bank of India Archives, enabling participants to gain exposure to both specialised film-preservation practices and broader approaches to documentary and institutional heritage.

The workshop will conclude on October 15, 2026, with a session on international perspectives on film archives, followed by the valedictory ceremony and a special screening of the 4K-restored FTII diploma film ‘Eight Column Affair’, followed by an interaction with its director and Chief Guest Shri Sriram Raghavan.