MUMBAI: The Thomson Foundation for Film and TV Heritage with support from the National Film Archive of India (NFAI), from the French institution ‘La Cinémathèque française’ and from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), have partnered with the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) to launch a new section – ‘IFFI Goa Film Treasures’. This new cinema event will be introduced at the 38th International Film Festival of India and will open on 27 November to 1 December, 2007 in Goa.

IFFI Goa Film Treasures is a classic section entirely dedicated to international film heritage. It includes a special film programming and professional workshops. This year’s theme, ‘Freedom’, will be highlighted by movies from acclaimed directors like Jean Renoir, Charlie Chaplin or Kenji Mizoguchi. The workshops will be led by international cinema personalities.

Earlier this year, the Thomson Foundation had gathered worldwide competencies from India, France and the USA to set up an educational program for film students from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune.

Thomson Foundation, Managing Director, Séverine Wemaere said, “I would like to thank the Festival committee of the 38th International Film Festival of India and especially Ms Kapur and Mr Santhanam for giving us the opportunity to join the Festival. Films are a vivid art of representation, a tremendous source of inspiration and have a mighty effect on the mind and imagination, but sadly, they are at risk of loss and disappearance. By participating in IFFI Goa Film Treasures, the Thomson Foundation aims to reach out to a larger population of people to emphasize the importance of film heritage.”