Chandigarh schools asked to hold film festivals by CBSE

Central Board of Secondary Education has decided to celebrate World Day for Audiovisual Heritage on October 27 and for the same purpose it has suggested the schools under its administration to celebrate the day. The celebration is aimed at protecting and safeguarding the heritage of audiovisual media like film, television, radio, photographic prints etc. The board has said the schools to celebrate the day by digitizing photographs, organizing week long film festivals and creating own film posters. According to CBSE these steps can help make a connection between the students and the rich world of audiovisual heritage that is available for them.

According to the Additional Director (Research and Innovation) of CBSE, Sugandh Sharma, “Students may digitize their old school/local village/town/city photographs, which are available only in print form. They may also restore the prints using photo-editing software. They can celebrate the works of renowned directors such as Satyajit Ray, Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt, Akira Kurosawa, Sergei M Eisenstein, Federico Fellini by screening their classics.”

The students are free to celebrate the day by bringing in diverse colors of Asian audiovisual heritage through the mode of folk/classical music and dance performances. They can create their own film posters which were quite a craze before the days of flex posters and digital prints. There will be three groups of classes in the schools which would celebrate the day. The three groups will be: class VI- VIII, IX-X and XI-XII. The activities will be held on National Youth Day on 12 January 2016. The culmination of the celebration will come as an ‘Audio Visual Heritage Festival 2016’.

In order to preserve the immense archive of sound recordings and moving images, the United National Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) had decided earlier this year that October 27 will be regarded as World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. CBSE has aimed to bring the diversity and culture of the country in front of the students through these activities and promote awareness and involvement of the students in preserving the rich heritage of audiovisual elements.