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©Thai Film Archive

2024 Bangkok Symposium

Session 5 - Lost and Endangered Films : Divergent Paths in Writing History and Creating Archives

Bangkok, 23 April 2024

Please do not publish or re-use in any way any of these documents without prior permission of the speakers.

Film Festival as the Key Ignition of Film Archiving in Indonesia

Amalia Sekarjati (Independent Researcher)

Two prominent Indonesian film festivals, Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival (JAFF) and Festival Film Dokumenter (FFD), have recently demonstrated a strong commitment to advancing film archiving in Indonesia. Both festivals, based in Yogyakarta, have established dedicated units for archiving and database management within their organizations. They have launched online platforms to showcase their film collections and create comprehensive film databases. JAFF has also revived its Independent Corner screening program in its 2023 edition. This presentation aims to explore these initiatives' impact as catalysts for film archiving in Indonesia, examining their operational plans, archival methods, and challenges. The goal is to enhance their archival roles, understand their position within the broader archiving landscape, and inspire further archival efforts in Indonesian cinema.

ArchivingOffTheCentre : Collaborative Routes

Iyesha Geeth Abbas (Independent Archivist)

This presentation highlights unconventional and innovative approaches to film preservation in India, focusing on collection, identification, research, and cataloguing that deviate from traditional practices. With a significant portion of early 20th-century Indian films lost, official histories often lack crucial data about films and filmmakers. For instance, while accounts of silent cinema in the region seem sparse, censor records reveal a vibrant audience engagement with both international and local silent films. The presentation will explore the vital contributions of amateur historians, cinephiles, and song enthusiasts in unearthing and preserving film materials, the development of rigorous preservation methods by these communities, and the creative, sometimes unconventional, strategies employed by institutions. By examining these efforts, the presentation aims to showcase how imagination, collaboration, and community involvement are reshaping film archiving practices in India.

Solidarity or Savior Complex? On the Complexities of Film Preservation in Egypt

Alia Ayman (New York University)

This presentation explores the challenges and complexities of archiving Egyptian documentaries, drawing from Alia Ayman's dissertation on the history and politics of Egyptian documentary filmmaking from the 1950s to the present. It highlights how, despite the absence of a comprehensive film archive in Egypt, curators and researchers have worked to recover and screen important historical films, often facing difficulties due to the poor preservation of materials. Ayman reflects on the disparities between film archiving in the Global South and the Global North, advocating for a decolonized approach to film preservation that emphasizes equal collaboration and the repatriation of cultural heritage.

Film Archives and Sustainability : A Case Study

Farhana Rohman (Bangladesh Film Archive)

Farhana Rohman explores the critical importance of film archives and their sustainability through the lens of Hiralal Sen, one of the first filmmakers in the Indian subcontinent. Despite his pioneering work, which included 22 feature films and numerous documentaries and newsreels, all of Sen’s films were tragically lost in a warehouse fire before his death in 1917. This case highlights the challenges of preserving film history and underscores the need for sustainable archiving practices to protect cultural heritage for future generations.