Kolkata International Film Festival scheduled for Nov 10-17

One hundred years after the first Bengali film, Bilwamangal, was screened, the 24th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF), to be held from November 10 to 17, will not only celebrate the journey through the past century but also focus on preservation and restoration of Bengali classics.

One of the major draws of this year’s KIFF is a workshop on film preservation organised by the Film Heritage Foundation (FHF). The workshop, which will train 60 resource personnel in the art of preservation and restoration, also aims to create awareness on the urgent need to preserve the moving image heritage of the Bengali film industry.

The FHF has compiled a list of 100 Bengali films that are in urgent need of preservation and restoration. They include Bimal Roy’s Udayer Pathe (1944), Suchitra Sen-Uttam Kumar starrer Harano Sur (1957), Tapan Sinha’s Kabuliwala(1957), Satyajit Ray’s Parash Pathar (1958) and Teen Kanya (1961), and Mrinal Sen’s Padatik (1973), among others. Most of these films are lying with individual producers or with the State government.

 “Restoration is an art form and we have to train people in this aspect so that our heritage of moving images can be preserved. Moreover, we have to also understand that restoration is more costly that creation,” Mr. Dungarpur said.

Vivek Kumar, director general of KIFF, said the workshop — whose organisers include Viacom18 and International Federation of Film Archives — is a “very important” component of the festival. “Eleven of the most qualified archivist and film restorers of the world will participate in the workshop,”” Mr. Kumar said.