Amitabh Bachchan will be conferred with the prestigious 2021 FIAF award by the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF), the worldwide organisation of film archives and museums from across the world, at a virtual showcase scheduled to take place on March 19, later this month. Renowned international film directors Martin Scorsese and Christopher Nolan will present the award to the superstar for his dedication and contribution to the preservation of, and access to, the world’s film heritage for the benefit of present and future generations.
“We must strengthen the idea that film archiving is as essential as filmmaking, and I do hope that we are able to garner further support for this most essential cause from my colleagues in the film industry and the government, to enable us to realise our dream for building a centre that will preserve and showcase our magnificent film heritage,” said Bachchan, while acknowledging the global recognition. Incidentally, he was nominated by the FIAF affiliate Film Heritage Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation founded by filmmaker and archivist Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, dedicated to the preservation, restoration, documentation, exhibition and study of India’s film heritage.
Former recipients of the awards include legends of world cinema including Martin Scorsese and Christopher Nolan themselves, along with other names such as Manoel de Oliveira, Ingmar Bergman and Geraldine Chaplin. Bachchan will be the first Indian to join this celebrated list. Frédéric Maire, president of FIAF, explained this year’s choice: “This year FIAF celebrates the twentieth anniversary of its annual award. To mark this momentous occasion, there could be no better recipient than one of the world's greatest movie stars, and one who has understood, embraced, and publicised the cause of film preservation for years. FIAF has been very active in India and South Asia, thanks to its close collaboration with Film Heritage Foundation, since 2015. By presenting our prestigious FIAF Award to Amitabh Bachchan, we want to show the world how rich and diverse, but also how fragile, this unique film heritage is, and we want to publicly thank Mr Bachchan for his role as a high-profile advocate for the rescue of this heritage, in India and beyond.”
Scorsese and Nolan have applauded FIAF’s choice of winner this year, both praising the actor profusely. “Amitabh Bachchan’s advocacy for preserving India’s film legacy has been exceptional. With a career spanning over five decades, he is a celebrated actor who has put the considerable weight of his reputation behind the cause of film preservation in India and the entire subcontinent,” said Scorsese, as Nolan added, “Mr Bachchan has invested an impressive amount of personal interest in furthering the cause and amplifying the need to protect India’s film legacy. From storing celluloid prints of his own productions and the ones he acted in immaculately in an air-conditioned vault at his residence over the years to frequently appealing to the government and film fraternity to come forward to contribute in saving India’s film legacy.”
Also read:
Meet Aditi Mayer, the sustainability activist decolonising fashion, one Instagram post at a time
Actor-musician Monica Dogra on what drew her to her latest web series, The Married Woman
