Filmmaker Shivendra Dungarpur explains how his Mumbai-based Film Heritage Foundation is helping the Manipur State Film Development Society archive its collections and highlights the problems the pandemic poses for film archiving
Shivendra Singh Dungarpur. Pics Courtesy Film Heritage Foundation
The Manipur State Film Development Society (MSFDS) recently sought the help of Mumbai-based Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) in setting up an archive of Manipuri cinema in Imphal. Established by documentarian and archivist Shivendra Singh Dungarpur in 2014, FHF has been reviving and creating awareness about India’s endangered movie heritage. Renowned world filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Christopher Nolan are among the archive's supporters. Dungarpur spoke to Mid-Day.com about Manipur’s thus-far overlooked film legacy as well as the challenge of preserving films amid a pandemic. Edited excerpts from the interview:
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Tell us a little about the memorandum of understanding that Manipur State Film Development Society (MSFDS) signed with Film Heritage Foundation (FHF). How did it come about?
FHF became a member of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) in 2015, and we have been working closely with the international community of film archivists to gain expertise in and provide training to set international film archiving standards in India.
The signing of the MOU between MSFDS and FHF can be traced back to FHF’s annual film preservation and restoration workshops which we have been conducting in different cities around the country since 2015 with the aim of developing a local resource of film archivists. Johnson Rajkumar, an individual who had been a participant in two of the workshops in 2016 and 2017 wrote an email to us at the end of 2020 asking for help on behalf of the MSFDS to set up a film archive in Imphal. A flurry of email exchanges and virtual calls between us and Mr Sunzu Bachaspatimayum, Secretary of MSFDS and Johnson culminated in the decision to enter into an MOU as per the terms of which, FHF would provide expert advice and consultancy to collaborate with MSFDS to set up a film archive and conservation centre, train their personnel, help them receive assistance from international experts and devise a road map on how to preserve Manipur’s unique film heritage. A heritage that includes the work of doyens like SN Chand, Aribam Syam Sharma, MK Binodini Devi and Maibam Amuthoi Singh, to name just a few.
How did FHF approach the task of helping Manipur State set up its archive?
The first step for us was to travel to Imphal and understand the space available as well as to conduct a three-day workshop with the participants. The FHF team introduced the participants to the basic principles of film and non-film material (like posters, lobby cards, photographs, etc.) conservation and storage, assisted them in segregating, identifying and creating an inventory of their films, and took them through the rudiments of cataloguing. We invited David Walsh, Training & Outreach Coordinator, FIAF and an expert in the field to give the participants a lecture on the salient points of setting up a film archive. We also advised them on the best usage of the space, the storage layout, and temperature and humidity control of the areas designated for the vault and the conservation lab.
Having faced the challenges of setting up an archive from scratch with limited funding and resources, FHF donated two film rewinding tables (essential equipment for film conservation) to the Manipur State archive so they can begin work right away. This was quite a feat as the tables had to be sent by road from Mumbai to Imphal, a journey that took 21 days and involved the MSFDS Secretary and his team having to make several calls to higher authorities to clear a road blockade at the border to ensure the tables reached in time for our workshop.
The next step would be for us to conduct our annual film preservation workshop in Imphal in collaboration with FIAF with a focus on the Northeast, which would entail a much more intensive and comprehensive curriculum.
However, in the meantime, to ensure that we do not lose the momentum of the process that has begun, we have shared a to-do list of what needs to be done in the interim and will exchange regular updates in weekly online meetings about the progress.
What are some of the rare and interesting facts about the cinema of Northeast India?
When one thinks of Northeast India, one seldom thinks of the cinema of the Northeastern states of India. However, the states have a largely forgotten, rich history of cinema which is a strong symbol of their culture and art.
Jyotiprasad Agarwalla, who came from a migrant family from Rajasthan, was the man who began the cinematic journey of the North Eastern frontiers. This journey began from his family tea estate near the culturally rich Assamese city of Tezpur, where he set up a temporary film studio. The film movement in the Northeast gained momentum only after Agarwalla’s film ‘Joymoti’ (1935) released in the cinema. The movement spread its wings all over the region gradually as the states of Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram were formed from Sikkim and Assam. As the North Eastern region of India was shaping, so was its cinema. In Manipur, Bengali filmmaker Deb Kumar Bose’s ‘Matamgi Manipur’ (1972) laid the foundation for the rich cinematic culture of the state. The states of Assam and Manipur developed into significant film industries. Other states like Meghalaya began their journey a little later, with the first Khasi film, ‘Ka Synjuk Ri ki Laiphew Syiem’ coming out in 1981. The film industries in the various states grew over the years and have now gained international acclaim with films like ‘Village Rockstars’ (2017) and ‘Pahuna’ (2017) hitting the theatres.
From the time the first Manipuri feature film ‘Matamgi Manipur’ was released in 1972 and the father of Manipuri cinema, Sapam Nadiachand, (popularly known as S.N. Chand) directed ‘Brojendragee Luhongba’ (1973), Manipuri cinema has been recognized for its artistry. Film critic and President of the Film Society of Manipur, Meghachandra Kongbam, shared an incredible statistic in an article that appeared in E-Pao. He wrote, “In a span of 25 years of Manipuri cinema upto April 1997, Manipur produced only 28 feature films. Out of 28 feature films, nine films had won the national awards; this shows that every third film produced in Manipur had won a national award.” Manipuri cinema also made a mark on the world stage when, in 1982, Aribam Syam Sharma’s film ‘Imagi Ningthem’ bagged the Golden Montgolfiere in the competition section of the 4th Film Festival of Three Continents, Nantes in France and in 1990, his film ‘Ishanou’ was selected for the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes International Film Festival.
What kind of filmic material is the archive in Manipur expected to work on?
As Manipuri cinema began in the 1970s, most of their celluloid films are on cellulose acetate which is prone to deterioration if not kept in temperature- and humidity-controlled conditions. MSFDS has managed to collect quite a few celluloid films, many of which unfortunately are in poor condition from not being stored and maintained properly over the years. Their current collection includes significant Manipur films like ‘Brojendragee Luhongba’ and ‘Imagi Ningthem’. They have already taken the first steps for the restoration of the first Manipuri film ‘Mainu Pemcha’ which began production in 1946 but remained unfinished as well as ‘Brohendragee Luhongba’ which they are keen to restore as part of their year-long Golden Jubilee celebration of Manipuri cinema this year.
What are the challenges you faced in keeping FHF running during the pandemic, and now again with this fresh lockdown?
The impact of Covid-19 on our archive as well as Film Heritage Foundation was quite devastating. When the government declared a severe lockdown on March 24, 2020, we were not supposed to step out of our homes except for groceries and medicines and offices and public transportation were to be shuttered. This was a nightmare as we could not access our archive and even though our archivists had prepared to work from home, nobody imagined that the lockdown would be indefinite.
Mumbai was in the midst of its usual extremely hot and humid summer which exacerbated the problem of maintaining the archive as temperature and humidity control was impossible without being able to access the premises. Finally, after about four weeks, worried about the condition of the material, I started going to the archive every day alone so I could at least run the air-conditioning and dehumidification systems for a few hours daily. I would walk from my home to the office. I had to air, sanitize and clean the premises myself as no one else was able to come in. After about a week of daily access, the temperature and humidity began to return to pre-lockdown levels. But the weeks of closure had done its damage. We discovered that some of our precious nitrate photograph negatives had crumbled to dust and the negatives had a strong smell of vinegar.
Film Heritage Foundation, being the only non-governmental body working in the field of film preservation in India, we have spent the last seven years advocating for the cause of saving our film heritage through public lectures, trying to build a local resource of archivists through our annual training workshops in association with FIAF, and of course saving any films and film-related memorabilia we can get our hands on. But funding has always been a challenge and frankly we have been managing on a wing and a prayer.
In 2020, we had planned a fund-raising campaign for Phase 1 of an expansion plan as we are in dire need of more space and infrastructure for our growing collections. The plan was to reach out to both Indian and international donors. But then came the virus and the lockdown and while we have reached out to several potential donors, the standard answer we receive is that all funds, even those under CSR programmes, have been diverted for pandemic relief efforts. The arts has always been a stepchild in the world of philanthropy in India and film did not even figure on the landscape before we started FHF. The pandemic has definitely been a huge setback for funding for film preservation in India and I can only hope that we will see a revival in the long-term.
When you started FHF, there were hardly any technical professionals in India to help the restoration process. Has the scenario changed now? Are people, especially film industry professionals, more aware of the importance of film restoration?
Film Heritage Foundation has definitely put film preservation on the map in our part of the world. When we started on this journey in 2015, people were not aware that we had lost a colossal amount of our film heritage or that films needed to be preserved or for that matter that saving our film heritage is even a cause that needs support. Thanks to our sustained advocacy and engagement with the film industry across the country and our travelling annual workshops, film preservation is no longer a neglected issue.
In response to the fact that India has a dearth of film archivists and no formal training courses in the field, Film Heritage Foundation has been conducting week-long intensive annual film preservation and restoration workshops in collaboration with FIAF since 2015.
These workshops have had the dual purpose of creating awareness while also skilling individuals in the best practices of both film and digital preservation, film-related paper and photographic conservation and archive management.
The faculty comprises international experts from leading film archives and museums around the world and the course is certified by FIAF. From the first year itself, we have offered scholarships that has enabled a majority of the participants to do the course absolutely free of cost. In 2020, due to the impact of the pandemic, we adapted to the new normal and took the workshop online.
These workshops have helped us build a movement for film preservation not just in India but the subcontinent. We have introduced over 300 individuals to film preservation practices since 2015. Participants have gone on to apply for higher studies and further training and have also been employed by us and by other similar organizations in the country. There is a growing perception of film preservation as a viable career opportunity. There is also an increased awareness in the film industry and government bodies about saving our films. Movements for film preservation have begun in neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Afghanistan thanks to the workshops.
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