Organization of film festivals, preservation of films, production of short films; Everything is now merged into NFDC
The Central Government has ordered the merger of various sections related to cinema under the Government with the National Film Development Corporation. The Film Division, the Directorate of Film Festivals, the National Film Archive of India and the Children’s Film Society of India have been merged into NFDC. The central government has made it clear that the move is to facilitate operations. With the new decision, NFDC will now be hosting the Goa Film Fests. There will be no change in employee arrangements. The Government has sanctioned `1304 crore for the operation of NFDC till 2026.
The feature films are already being produced by NFDC. The ministry said the new decision would give a strong impetus to the production of films in all genres, including feature films, documentaries, children’s films and animated films. The Ministry hopes that the promotion of films, the preservation of film content, the digitization, the restoration and distribution of films, and public relations activities will be enhanced by participating in various international and various domestic fairs. Under the new order, NFDC will be fully responsible for the production of documentaries previously held by the Films Division.
Until now, the Directorate of Films has been in charge of organizing film festivals. This was handed over to NFDC today. It is hoped that this will bring the organization of various national and international film festivals under one umbrella. Through this, the Ministry hopes to make the various national and international film festivals in the country more organized and attractive. The major film festivals to be organized directly by NFDC are the Mumbai International Film Festival, the International Film Festival of India in Goa and the Children’s Film Festival.
Until now, films have been protected by the National Film Archives of India. This was handed over to NFDC today. NFDC will now implement the National Film Heritage Mission, which aims to digitize and revitalize films and documentaries.
An amount of `1304.52 crore has been set apart for the operation of NFDC and development of the film sector till 2026. Proceeds from the film industry can be used to further strengthen the NFDC. The Union Cabinet had in December 2020 decided to merge the four Film Media Units, namely the Film Division, the Film Festival Directorate, the National Film Archive of India and the Children’s Film Society. Part of that is the merger through the new orders. The brand name ‘Films Division’ has been retained. Ownership of NFDC assets will remain with the Government of India. The order also provides for financial incentives for audio-visual co-productions with foreign countries and for the promotion of foreign films in India.
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