Karnataka: KCA seeks Rs 8 crore grant to set up film archive

Manipal: Ashok Kashyap, a member of the Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy (KCA) and a cinematographer, said that the KCA has requested for Rs 8 crore grant from the State government to set up a storage vault and other infrastructure to archive old Karnataka films made in multiple languages.

According to Kashyap, the archiving, digitalization, and colour restoration of the films will all take place through this process. He was speaking with reporters in Manipal on the sidelines of a workshop on 'filmmaking skill development' hosted by Manipal Institute of Communication (MIC) Manipal, KCA Bengaluru, and the Department of Information and Public Relations at the MIC Manipal campus on Wednesday.

Learning the new rising style of illustration utilised in movie-making in recent years employing technology such as CGI, VFX, and others, according to Ashok, is the need of the hour. The new generation of filmmakers should learn about emerging technology and film aesthetics in a systematic manner.

Though there is a yearly demand for 20,000 film experts, supply falls far short of this number. To ensure demand and supply balance, he said, all media institutes and film schools must put in significant effort. Regarding the demand in Karnataka for the establishment of government-run OTT platforms, as has already occurred in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Kashyap stated that if film industry professionals can become loud in this area, it may become a reality. "OTT is a great revenue generator since it provides viewers with a package of fun while also educating them." 'It's in a three-dimensional structure,' he noted. When asked if KCA can move on with the initiative to create an OTT platform, Kashyap said the organization's current focus is on digitising films produced in the state. "Academy members visited the National Film Archive of India in Pune and realised the need of digitising and archiving Karnataka-produced films," he added.