New Delhi: International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) is going to honor Amitabh Bachchan with their annual award. Bachchan is being given this award for his efforts towards preserving the heritage of films in India.
This award has been previously given to the likes of iconic directors including Jean-Luc Goddard, Martin Scorsese and Christopher Nolan.
Frederic Maire, President of FIAF gave a statement, “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.”
He added, “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 Bachchan for his role as a high-profile advocate for the rescue of this heritage, in India and beyond.”
Amitabh’s name was nominated by FIAF affiliate Film Heritage Foundation. They had declared Amitabh as their global ambassador in 2015.
Founded by filmmaker and archivist Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Film Heritage Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to preserving, restoration, documentation, exhibition, and study of India’s film heritage. According to him India has already lost almost 70 percent of its films.
Amitabh Bachchan in a statement said, “It was when I became the ambassador of Film Heritage Foundation in 2015, that I realised the extent of the neglect and colossal loss of our precious film heritage and how we continue to lose more of our legacy every day. Recognising the urgency of the situation, I have been working closely with Film Heritage Foundation since its inception to do everything in our power to save our films and to build a movement for film preservation in our part of the world.”
Nolan also congratulated the veteran actor, “I want to congratulate Amitabh Bachchan on receiving the 2021 honour. As the ambassador for Film Heritage Foundation, he has played an essential role in putting the cause of film preservation on the map in India and the subcontinent.”
