France, India, Sri Lanka Unite to Save Film Heritage, Sumitra Peries Classic Set for Restoration

In a move to bolster film preservation across borders, India 's Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) is teaming with French diplomatic missions in India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives on a two-year project dubbed FISCH (France-India-Sri Lanka Cine Heritage).

Supported by the French Embassy and the French Institute in India, alongside the French Embassy in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, the project spans over two years with a focus on training, film restoration , preservation and outreach.

The partnership has kicked off with a film preservation and restoration workshop, which continues till Nov. 14 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, southern India. The workshop, organized with the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF), is hosting 67 participants for intensive training in film restoration and preservation techniques. The initiative features faculty from prestigious French institutions including Cinémathèque de Toulouse, Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé and Institut National de l'Audiovisuel (INA).

Among the project's first initiatives is the restoration of the 1978 Sinhala-language coming-of-age drama film "Gehenu Lamai" directed by Sumitra Peries and produced by Lester James Peries. Eleven Sri Lankan participants will join the restoration effort, working alongside the Lester James Peries and Sumitra Peries Foundation.

The project also includes plans for a permanent training center in Mumbai, aimed at developing new generations of film preservationists through annual training programs.

Marie-Noëlle Duris, Chargée d'Affaires at the French Embassy in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, highlighted the collaboration's significance in preserving Sri Lankan cinema, particularly praising "Gehenu Lamai" as a "cinematographic gem." "This promising project will pay tribute to the immense talent of the director, a long-standing friend of France, as well as to the invaluable contribution of Sri Lanka cinema to the world, highlighting the need for preservation of this heritage," Duris added.

French Ambassador to India Thierry Mathou underscored the importance of preserving India's film heritage: "The Indian film industry is one of the largest and most prolific in the world. Conserving, restoring and making films from India and Sri Lanka available to audiences is a way to preserve a part of the world's cultural heritage for future generations."

FHF director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur called FISCH "a historic international initiative," noting his personal connection to the project through his relationship with filmmakers Lester James Peries and Sumitra Peries and that the latter had sent him notes on the films she would have liked to restore.

Girish Kasaravalli's "Ghatashraddha" (1977) and Shyam Benegal's "Manthan" (1976) both restored by FHF, bowed at Venice and Cannes respectively earlier this year.