The colours in the Thai spy movie Operation Revenge remain as vibrant as when the film first came out 51 years ago. Likewise, the struggle for independence in the Indonesian film Barbed Wired Fence remains intact, as vivid and strong as the image of the college boys projected on the screen when it came out in 1982. These films were on the verge of disintegration when they were revived to their former glory, ready to return to where they belong.
Mitr Chaibancha and Jin Lui in the 1967 film Operation Revenge.
In the age of streaming, phone screens and digital materials, the preservation of film -- as a material and source of moving images -- seems pointless. But to the contrary, it is to ensure that film is alive is the future. Today, film archivists from countries in the region have converged in Bangkok for the 22nd conference of Southeast Asia-Pacific Audiovisual Archive Association (or Seapavaa), where participants reflect upon film preservation activities. Besides presentations and meetings, the event treats audiences to free screenings of restored classic films from Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand (see sidebar).
The Seapavaa assembly is hosted this year by Thai Film Archive. In charge of preserving and restoring the country's audio-visual heritage, from historical newsreels to feature film, the archive has decided to organise the screening of old films to accompany the conference because film should be preserved not just for the sake of preservation or archiving.
"We want people to see the outcome of the work of several archives in Southeast Asia," says Sanchai Chotiroseranee, deputy director of Thai Film Archive. "We keep old films and restore them [to good quality] because we want people to see them, not to keep them in boxes.
"Film restoration has advanced, from the time we manually worked on disintegrating film reels to the current technology of digital restoration. But the work of keeping the original film remains crucial. Regardless of the advancement in technology, or of how people access film and moving images these days, the job of safeguarding the original source is important because it's the beginning of everything."
Film archival work is usually a state responsibility, generally as part of the larger national archives. In Southeast Asia, this branch of archival duty has developed over the past few decades. Sinematek Indonesia, for instance, was set up in 1975, while the National Film Archive of the Philippines was founded around eight years ago, the last in the region, though it has been active in restoring and distributing classic Filipino films. The Asian Film Archive in Singapore, which functions under the National Archives, has also been enthusiastic in keeping not just Singaporean films but also other titles from Southeast Asian countries. The Thai Film Archive was set up 34 years ago and came under the care of the Ministry of Culture in 2009, which allows it greater autonomy.
While old text, scriptures and photographs have long been enshrined as national treasures, it took a long time for some countries to realise that the conservation of moving images -- film, newsreels, television images -- is also a cultural duty, and that audiovisual heritage is a museum of memories that plays a vital part in educating future generations.
The challenges -- and paradox -- of the digital age is that while celluloid film seems like a near-extinct beast that belongs to museums, archivists still see the material as the more reliable. While digital archiving -- basically keeping the digital files of restored films -- many archives that can afford it prefer keeping films as film.
"Film as an innovation has reached its culmination, and we know it won't change in the future," explains Sanchai. "With digital, the format still keeps changing, and we don't know if the files we keep today will be applicable to the machines of the future. Digital is still evolving. Film may be old and outdated, but it's the most trusted source. Archivists have to think about this as a major factor."
One of the archive's major achievements was the search and restoration of the once-considered-lost film Santi-Vina from 1951. This year, the archive has just completed the restoration of another Thai classic Plae Kao (The Scar) from 1977, which will be screened to the public later in the year.
The programme showing this weekend, however, is a good representation of the works of film archives across the region. Sanchai concludes: "When people see these films, hopefully they'll know that the preservation, restoration and distribution of what people call 'old films' is an important cultural work."
Asian restored cinema
A special (and free!) programme of restored Asian titles will take place at Lido Theatre from today until April 13, as part of the 22nd conference of Southeast Asia-Pacific Audiovisual Archive Association (or Seapavaa). There are two rare films from the Philippines, and one each from Indonesia, Japan and Thailand, plus an "Archival Gems" slot. Each of these films — a legacy from the pre-digital era — has a history of restoration work that shows why film preservation is an important cultural activity.
Gate Of Hell (Japan, 1953)Showing today at 6pm
Hailed as a masterpiece, Gate Of Hell (directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa) tells the story of a woman's love and sacrifice to save her husband's life and honour. It won two of the cinema's most prestigious prizes when it came out: the Grand Prix at Cannes Film Festival and Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars. Japan has a rich cinema history, and the preservation of film is taken as one of the most serious tasks. The National Film Centre in Tokyo keeps the majority of its collection on celluloid film — and hardly any digital — to ensure the longevity of the material.
Batch 81 (The Philippines, 1982)Showing tomorrow at 8pm
Directed by Mike De Leon — a remarkable filmmaker who's not well-known outside the Philippines — Batch 81 still offers chilling resonance and commentary on an oppressive regime after 35 years. The film tells the story of disturbing, inhuman hazing rituals of a fraternity in a university. Made during the reign of President Ferdinand Marcos, the film is an intense exploration of an absurd seniority system, military-style pressure and gang rivalry on a campus. The film was screened at Cannes, and this restored version was done from the 35mm original camera negative, a positive print and the original sound negative from the Asian Film Archive in Singapore.
Torachon Khon Suay (Operation Revenge) (Thailand, 1967)Showing Sunday at 8pm
Mitr Chaibancha plays an ex-cop who goes rogue to hunt down a ruthless gang of drug mafia. Meanwhile, Hong Kong star Jin Lui plays the beautiful daughter of the ringleader who returns to Thailand to take revenge on her own father. Operation Revenge, directed by Ubol Yugala, was likely inspired by one of the early James Bond films, but the Thai-style espionage adventure has a distinctive, spoof-like flavour. The restoration was done by the technicians at Thai Film Archive through the digitalisation of the 35mm print and the colour grading with references to the original release.
Barbed Wired Fence (Indonesia, 1961)Showing Tuesday, Apr 10, at 8pm
This classic Indonesian film is set in a Dutch prisoner camp during the war of national independence. Parman, one of the inmates, becomes chess playmate of Koenen, a young Dutch officer, in order to gather some information. Parman finds out about a plan to execute two prisoners, and soon things escalate and his allegiance is tested. A rare post-war Indonesian film, Barbed Wired Fence has been restored mainly from an old screening 35mm print. These surviving reels are showing advanced deterioration and they have severe physical damage due to projection use. Physical repair was done to prepare the reels for digital acquisitions. The reels were scanned in 2K resolution, digitally cleaned and restored.
Insiang (The Philippines, 1976)Showing Wednesday, Apr 11, at 8pm
A masterpiece in social realism from director Lino Brocka, Insiang tells the story of a slum-dwelling young woman who has been raped by her mother's boyfriend and sets out for revenge. This is the first Filipino film to be officially selected by the Cannes Film Festival, and the first Southeast Asian film to receive that honour. Lino Brocka is considered a legendary director whose films brilliantly record the ground-level reality of the Philippines. The restoration of the film was funded by Film Development Council of the Philippines and Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project.
