IASA-BAAC 2026 Conference

Name: A Case for Mandatory Deposit: Archiving the Mammoth Indian Film Industry
Start: 2026-10-21T10:30:00+0300
End: 2026-10-21T11:00:00+0300

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A Case for Mandatory Deposit: Archiving the Mammoth Indian Film Industry

Wednesday October 21, 2026 10:30am - 11:00am EEST

Statehood hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

What if the only version of a national award-winning film in a state/regional archive is a wantonly censored YouTube copy? How will we protect the cinema of the world’s largest film producer, which contributes to over 26% of the global film production, as per the World Intellectual Property Organisation?

With access and storage of films mainly being controlled by private players, a mandatory film deposit policy becomes important to save information from the profit-driven rules of the market and the preferences of the cultural majority. Besides the fear of some films being neglected as not worth preserving, the chances of modifying content (there is news of muting parts of dialogues, editing scenes out, and colour grading films differently for streaming platforms and theatrical re-releases) are high, too. To combat this, the government must introduce a two-tier approach to archiving, with every film appearing for copyright/exhibition certification, submitting a copy to the national film archive and the respective regional archive. Though most Indian states (28 in total) and some union territories have their own film industry, not all of them have an archive. Lacking a well-oiled production-to-archives pipeline becomes even more worrying in times of crisis when market disruption alters the usual venues for access and storage. A collaboration between the film fraternity, state governments, and the national government, focusing on the principle of LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe), is essential. By keeping the onus of preserving films exclusively on for-profit private entities, India risks losing its film heritage.

Speakers

Gayathri Rajkumar

Archivist, Prasad Corporation

I'm a graduate of the L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation. I worked as a cataloguer with the National Film Archive of India and later as an assistant conservator at the Museum of Art and Photography, Bengaluru. I'm currently an archivist with Prasad Corporation.

Wednesday October 21, 2026 10:30am - 11:00am EEST
Statehood hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Short Presentation, Online

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Zoom link https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86939636277
Zoom password 289030

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IASA-BAAC 2026 Conference

Gayathri Rajkumar

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Gayathri Rajkumar

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