MUMBAI: Former president of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and American Motion Picture executive and producer Sid Ganis has said that the Academy has been developing a close relationship with the Indian filmmakers.

At the 47th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) celebrated in Goa, he stated that the academy had been trying to know the Indian celebrities and filmmakers since the past few years. The academy wanted to enhance and expand its relationship with the Indian industry.

AMPAS preservationist Tessa Idlewine opined that the preference was given to Oscar-nominated films. Apart from that, movies which were unique, important and decaying were also preserved. Of the 37 films under the project, she added, 21 had been restored successfully. Idlewine also held a workshop on 'Restoration of Satyajit Ray Preservation Project' and said that the AMPAS was working continuously to save the artwork of the maestro and has saved his trilogy Apu, where the negatives of the films were almost burnt.

Film Festival director Senthil Rajan added that the National Film Achieves of India (NFAI) and AMPAS would have had more collaboration to preserve, conserve and restore more number of Indian films in future.

Both, Ganis and Idlewine also discussed about the 25-year old Active Preservation Program that started in 1991 and has four full-time preservationists. They also talked about the Academy vaults and the 92,000 film titles stored in them.