Culture

Manipur's Johnson Rajkumar wins Champion of Film Heritage Award

MSFDS stated that Johnson Rajkumar was among four film archivists of the world who were awarded at the inauguration of the workshop for their outstanding contribution to the movement of film archiving and preservation in their respective countries.

ByIFP Bureau

Updated 13 Jan 2023, 3:43 pm

Maura Pischedda inspecting a deteriorated reel from SN Chand Cine Archive & Museum (PHOTO: IFP)
Maura Pischedda inspecting a deteriorated reel from SN Chand Cine Archive & Museum (PHOTO: IFP)

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Manipuri film archivist Johnson Rajkumar, who volunteered at the SN Chand Archive and Museum, won the ‘Champion of Film Heritage Award’ at the ‘Film Preservation and Restoration Workshop’ held in Mumbai from December 4 to 8, the Manipur State Film Development Society (MSFDS) said on Friday.

“Johnson Rajkumar was conferred with the award for his selfless commitment and courage in taking the road less travelled with limited support and resources and taking on the challenge of sparking a movement for film preservation and laying the foundation to building a film archive and training archivists in his home state of Manipur,” the MSFDS stated in a release.

The ‘Film Preservation and Restoration Workshop’ was organised jointly by Film Heritage Foundation (FHF), Mumbai, and International Federations for Film Archive (FIAF), Belgium in association with the Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project in Mumbai from December 4 to 8.

The MSFDS stated that Johnson Rajkumar was among four film archivists of the world who were awarded at the inauguration of the workshop for their outstanding contribution to the movement of film archiving and preservation in their respective countries.

 The other awardees were Dammith Fonseka from Sri Lanka for his resolution to save Sri Lanka's film heritage, Chiranjibi Guragain from Nepal for initiating a digitization project for Nepal's film heritage along with Virchand Dharamsey of India who received the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ for his extraordinary dedication as a chronicler of the fragile history of India's silent cinema, the MSFDS stated.

It mentioned that Johnson Rajkumar went on to complete the week-long advanced course in ‘Film Preservation and Restoration,’ covering a broad range of topics regarding film preservation which included both theoretical lectures and hands-on training in the finest methods for preserving and restoring films, both celluloid and digital, as well as paper, photographic, and 3D objects that are relevant to the film industry.

The workshop was mentored by faculty of international professionals from top institutes of the world including David Walsh from FIAF, Arike Oke from British Film Institute, Tiago Ganhao from Cinemateca Portuguesa, Marianna de Sanctis from L’Immagine Ritrovata, Maura Pischedda from L’Immagine Ritrovata, Etienne Marchand from Institut National de L’Audiovisual, Samantha Leroy from Fondation Jérôme Seydoux, Marina Ruiz-Molina from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rio Lopez from Academy Museum of Motion, Shivendra Singh Dungarpur from Film Heritage Foundation and others, it mentioned.

Johnson Rajkumar highlighted the benefits of the workshop and stated that the Film Repair Specialist at L’Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna mentor Maura Pischedda and Object Conservator of Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, California Rio Lopez had agreed to help SN Chand Cine Archive and Museum in inspecting, treating, conserving and displaying the items which are in the archive, it added. 

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msfdsjohnson rajkumarchampion of film heritage award

IFP Bureau

IFP Bureau

IMPHAL, Manipur

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