Fingers pointed at administrators of the National Film Corporation for the loss of the country’s bulk of films
Films are works of cinematic art and they reflect memories and feelings. The creativity in a film reflects the work of a genius. Movies invoke emotions and they relate stories. They create an entire ‘world’ with a story that grips the audience. But what would happen if the films we watched throughout our lives are not preserved? What if the brilliant masterpieces that we witnessed were not preserved for our future generations?
Speaking to the Daily Mirror Gordon de Silva, the country’s first 3D animator and Senior Graphic and Animation artist at Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC), shared his insight on the preservation of films. A movie buff and a collector of photographic, cinematic and print accessories, his private collection has become a museum for film lovers. He has unveiled the preservation of film evolution of both world and Sri Lankan cinema from the nitrate and cellulose to the present digital era.
Nitrate and Cellulose era
Sharing his knowledge Gordon said that in 1895, December 28 the Lumiere brothers had released ‘the Arrival of a Train’ at La India Grand Café in France marked the beginning of the film industry. Present day cinema is a result of long-term experiments by Lumiere brothers. However, the medium cinema had arrived in Sri Lanka only in 1902, seven years after the commencement of an industry in France. “In cinema, there is both art and industry; which aids its wide dispersion,” he said.
Sharing some significant historical facts he said that the people who were involved in cinema had discovered many technical aspects to develop the medium. “In the earlier era, Nitrocellulose was used as the first flexible film base, beginning with Eastman Kodak products in August 1889. But Nitrocellulose is a highly flammable compound and it does not need air to keep burning as it produces 
its own oxygen while ignited. In addition, the smoke created by nitrate film combustion is extremely toxic. Therefore, it is difficult to douse a fire caused by nitrate film,” he said.
“Due to this major failure in nitrate films, Cellulose acetate was introduced in 1940 as a safe film base replacing flammable nitrate film. In early Sinhala Cinema, most filmmakers used Cellulose acetate as their film base. Later, film manufactures introduced polyester film base. These three film bases were the major technical changes in world film history”, he said.
Gordon said that film makers and manufactures had started preservation since the Nitrate era due to various damages from chemical reactions on film reels.
According to Gordon, three chemical changes occur on early film bases. When such a change is discovered on film the preservation begins. Nitrate films and acetate films are subjected to a deterioration process resulting in acid gas release which is called the vinegar syndrome. Another chemical change is mold or fungus. The gelatin binder of a film base is a good nutrient for mold. In these types of film bases, white or brown patches or a lattice-like growth along the edges can be seen. Mold or fungus typically damage the edges of a film. The third chemical change is a crystal base on the film reel.
Methods of archiving films
Gordon noted that protecting the first copy, the negative or the sound negative of a film is the best form of archiving a film. After screening a film in several cinemas the director or the producer of the film can give it to a film archive which is the second method. Any volunteer who wants to hand over the film to a place where film archiving is done properly can give the film to them,” he said.
Discussing film preservation and restoration, Gordon said that technology has now developed to an extent that a movie will remain in as close to its original form as possible. He said the goal of restoration is to create a durable copy without any significant loss of quality.
Substandard conditions
Gordon believes that film remains the best archiving and documenting material in the world. “Sometimes films would be 10 or 20 years old to be eligible for archiving, but the content never gets old. That is our heritage” he said.
He said that those in the film industry have a responsibility towards maintaining the quality of the film they screen. Cinema owners have to inform of any damages to the relevant private organization or company before handing over the film. “When a film, with no damages, is taken out of the laboratory and used, it is essential that a condition report detailing the present quality of the film be submitted, prior to handing over the film,” he said.
“Archiving films will not happen by just keeping the film on a wall shelf and in an air conditioned environment. There is a globally accepted method to archive films” he said. For example in the early film days there were almost 10 -13 1,000 foot long film reels and we had to store them by using a proper method. Regularly checking of films was required to prevent any chemical changes. This is why film historians, archivists, museums, filmmakers and manufacturers have introduced film preservation as a series of ongoing efforts to rescue decaying film stock and preserve the images which they contain,” he added.
Gordon identifies that during the time Sri Lanka was using black-and-white films people had done various chemical changes to those films. “As a result of those chemical changes people had found silver as an end product and they started to destroy black-and-white copies to gain silver,” he said.
He noted that the film restoration is an expensive part. “Approximately Rs.2.5 million would have to be allocated to restore a film and in a country like Sri Lanka there was no system to grant such money to restore a film,” he said.
Knowledge sharing at workshop
Recently, the National Film Corporation in association with International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF), the Film Heritage Foundation of India, the Gamini Fonseka Foundation and the Lester James Peiris Foundation had organized a five-day programme on film preservation, restoration, and archiving.
As a part of this historic attempt, three renowned experts arrived in Sri Lanka to share their knowledge 
of film restoration and conservation.
Digital Preservation Consultant, IWM Training and Outreach Coordinator of FIAF, David Walsh, former Manager of Conservation Service at the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), Mick Newnham and Founder Director of Film Heritage Foundation and Director, Producer of Dungarpur Films, Shivendra Singh Dungapur shared their knowledge during the programme.
In the five-day programme, the experts had conducted workshops and provided theoretical and practical knowledge pertaining to film preservation and restoration. With regard to funding this ambitious project, the Government had allocated Rs.20 million. During the closing ceremony of the programme, the experts and some Sri Lankan officials shared their future plans which are focused on rescuing Sri Lankan films which are in adverse condition.
Lack of knowledge and efficiency
Damith Fonseka, son of legendary actor Gamini Fonseka, said that his focus is on films that are not embodied in controversy over ownership. “Since 1965, no Government has taken any measures to preserve and archive our films. I must say that we have lost most of our films due to the lack of knowledge and inefficiency on the part of the administrators of the National Film Corporation. The people who were appointed for those posts were politically motivated. On the other hand these officials had no place to acquire the necessary knowledge,” he said.
He said that with the change of Government the National Archives and the Film Corporation currently comes under two irrelevant ministries. “The National Archive comes under the purview of Education Ministry while the Film Corporation comes under the Public Administration and Management Ministry,” he said.
Fonseka said that the lack of proper coordination between the two ministries has contributed to the sad situation regarding the struggle in preserving films belonging to the early years.
Plans to establish a laboratory service
National Film Corporation Chairman Sithendra Senaratne said that the visiting experts had to undergo much hardship apart from conducting the program using minimum technical facilities and within a few days. He said that the NFC would establish a laboratory service to restore Sri Lanka’s film heritage. “When we commenced this programme most of us were not aware of how to store a film. We also did not know how to restore it and how to keep it without getting damaged. During a short period, the experts had educated the participants at the workshop,” Senaratne said.
“This was a significant moment for Sri Lankans and this would benefit our future generations,” he said.
‘Hot weather hampering film preservation’- Walsh
“I found it really distressing to see the state at which the Sri Lankan film heritage has arrived at and this is a real problem for Sri Lankans because time is running out,” said David Walsh,a Digital Preservation Consultant of IWM and a Training and Outreach Coordinator of FIAF .
He said that due to the hot weather condition and humidity prevailing in Sri Lanka, films could not be archived in a normal way. He however said that in European countries it is possible to save films nearly 100-200 years old because those countries experience cold weather conditions.
“Film archiving has two responsibilities; one is preservation and the other one is restoration,” David said. He said that restoration is a very complicated and extremely skilled process which is designed to produce the version of a film that could be used as the original copy of a film.
‘Sri Lanka has lost 90% of its film heritage’- Dungarpur
There are many reasons for restoring films in a country. Shivendra Singh Dungarpur is a man who was inspired and motivated by such nostalgia. Dungarpur is the Founder Director of Film Heritage Foundation and Director, Producer of Dungarpur. He possesses a vast knowledge of film preservation, restoration and archiving. He is an award-winning filmmaker, an archivist, a restorer- who passionately believes in the cause of film preservation and restoration- and the founding director of Film Heritage Foundation - India. He is a key figure in promoting this work in Sri Lanka and shared his insight on the present situation of Sri Lanka’s film heritage.
“I want to call this work a rescue mission carried out on behalf of Sri Lankans because there is a long way to go. The present situation occurred due to the state of archiving which is in a terrible situation. I think this is a wake-up call and it is a mission which we have to continue and inspire. So much artistic work of directors in Sri Lanka, so many artistes who worked on these films, technicians who worked on these films and the memories gathered with these films....how can we let all this go?” he queried.
Dungarpur said that the country has to take the film archiving process forward and this was the beginning of that new moment. “You can claim that you had archived nearly 200 films in the National Archives and they are in good condition, but you have lost 90% of your film heritage,” he affirmed. He said that with FIAF help Sri Lanka can expect to restore and archive its films.
‘Sri Lankan must take film preservation seriously”- Newnham
Mick Newnham, former Manager of Conservation service at the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA),said that he has had the pleasure of working with people all around the world in preserving their cultural heritage in the form of films and audiovisual materials.
“There is no point in us coming forward and talking about film preservation in Sri Lanka unless Sri Lankans take the issue seriously and do what is needed,” Newnham said.
“It’s always a joy to work with people who have this burning desire to save their heritage and at the same time there is also sadness because not everything can be saved and the realization of just how much is already being lost,” Newnham said.
Pics by
Waruna Wanniarachchi and Kushan Pathiraja
