December 12, 2018
Bangla Govt building world-class film preservation lab
The construction of a world-class lab for preservation, restoration and digitisation of films is underway in Tollygunge in Kolkata. This Bengal Government venture is a step in its decision to become self-sufficient in the preservation of Bengal’s glorious film heritage.
Towards that end, a week-long film preservation and restoration workshop was also held recently.
The government has sanctioned Rs 21 crore for the nine-storeyed building. An e-tended has been floated for buying technical equipment.
The State Government has massive digitisation plans. The film rolls will not only be preserved but also digitised for easier use in the future. The staff of the West Bengal film archive is being trained by a film preservation company, which also organised the workshop.
The government has also built a film vault at the recently-constructed Cinema Centenary Building inside the same campus. The campus also hosts a cinema-cum-auditorium called Chalachchitra Satabarsha Bhaban, which was among the venues of the 2018 Kolkata International Film Festival.
