GOA: The National Film Archive of India (NFAI) has a significant presence at IFFI-Goa-2008. Apart from its poster exhibition, which traverses the history of Indian cinema through rare posters, the association lit up its first day at the festival with a live musical Kalia Mardan with archives chief Vijay Jadhav providing background music on the Tabla.

Some rare archives under the ‘Treasures from NFAI’ section include the 1936 Marathi classic Sant Tukaram, Dr Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani (1946/Hindi), Kalpana (1948/Hindi), Neecha Nagar (1946/Hindi) and a Devika Rani-starrer Karma (1933).

These films are testimony to the lasting appeal of the medium and a living example of the need for archiving the genius of the cinematic art form for posterity. NFAI plays a big role in spreading the message of preservation of the slices of movie history and in keeping the legacy of the masters for the future generations.

Cinematheque Francaise director of programming Jean-Francois Rauger and Thomson Foundation managing director Severine Wemaere praised the efforts of NFAI in a press conference at IFFI-Goa.