UNESCO Director visits NFDC–National Film Archive of India in Pune

Guilherme CANELA, Director of the Division for Digital Inclusion, Policies and Digital Transformation at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, visited the NFDC–National Film Archive of India (NFDC–NFAI) in Pune today as part of his official mission to India.During the visit, he met with Mr. Prakash Magdum, Managing Director, National Film Development Corporation and discussed the workings of the archive. Officials of the NFDC–NFAI presented an overview of the institution’s work in film preservation and restoration, including the ongoing efforts under the National Film Heritage Mission (NFHM). A detailed presentation highlighted the progress made in restoring and digitizing India’s cinematic legacy and the role of the archive in safeguarding the country’s audiovisual heritage.CANELA also toured the NFDC–NFAI Phase II film preservation and restoration facilities, where he observed the restoration and digitization processes first-hand and interacted with technical teams involved in the project.Discussions during the meeting explored potential areas of collaboration between UNESCO and NFDC–NFAI, including the possibility of organizing an international conference on film digitization and restoration in partnership with national and international stakeholders.

The proposed conference would bring together archivists, technicians, film professionals, government representatives, and cultural heritage experts from across the world to exchange knowledge and build capacities in audiovisual preservation.The meeting also explored potential avenues of collaboration related to the preservation and promotion of audiovisual heritage. Discussions touched upon possible future initiatives, including knowledge exchange, international cooperation, and opportunities to showcase India’s rich film heritage on global platforms.Speaking on the occasion, he said,"“It was a great pleasure to have visited the NFDC-NFAI today. Both the institution’s leadership and its staff demonstrated professionalism, commitment and passion towards this central mission of protecting India’s audiovisual heritage. I was also very impressed with the multistakeholder consultative process explained to me as well as the care for multilingualism — all very much aligned with UNESCO’s mandate.

”Prakash Magdum, Managing Director, NFDC, added:“We look forward to active collaboration between NFDC–NFAI and UNESCO in the areas of preservation as well as the Memory of the World Programme.”