“In a time of great divisions, conflicts and transformations, it’s really crucial to preserve and share our cultural patrimonies and ensure that this universal language will speak to future generations around the world.”
These words of Martin Scorsese, one of the finest film directors of our times, not only emphasise the significance of preserving films for posterity but also address questions related to the essence of cinema. Are films the only means of temporal entertainment or mere documentation? What about their identity as ‘literary heirs’, as Sergei Eisenstein, the father of montage, once referred to them? As Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Amar Akbar Anthony is set to hit the screens at Rotterdam Film Festival in January, 2023, the preservation and restoration of films and their essence again take centrestage in the discourse of cinema.
