Treasure Hunt

The film,which features Gamini Fonseka and Malini Fonseka in lead roles,won the Silver Lion of St. Mark award at the 1972 Venice International Film Festival,and was also selected as one of the outstanding films of the year,receiving a Diploma at the London Film Festival.

But over the years,Nidhanaya,which means “the treasure”,got lost. So much so that there is only one copy of the film left in the world now. “The film would have been lost forever but for National Film Archives of India (NFAI),Pune,” said Prashant Pathrabe,Director,NFAI.

Kiran Dhiwar,film preservation officer at NFAI,said that the interest in the film was rekindled on an international platform when the World Cinema Foundation (WCF) — a worldwide not-for-profit foundation headed by filmmaker Martin Scorsese — chose Nidhanaya as its project for restoration.

Nidhanaya,which won critical acclaim as one of the “top 10 Asian films of all time”,was also included in the global list of 100 best films to be ever made,according to Cinematheque Institute of France,which made the compilation to mark the World Film Centenary. About two months ago,the officials at WCF got in touch with NFAI to source the raw material.

“They intend to showcase the film again at the 70th Venice International Film Festival,which opened on August 28. But there was no film element available of Nidhanaya,neither with the producer,the rights holder or with Peries,” said Dhiwar. “The only surviving film element was the 110-minute dupe negative preserved at the NFAI,” he added.

The Sinhalese film,which was preserved at NFAI for over three decades,was then shipped to Cineteca Bologna,Italy,for frame-by-frame restoration. “WCF is making a digitally restored print,” said Dhiwar.

“From now on,whenever the film is being showcased,NFAI will be given due credit for its part in the film’s preservation and restoration,” he added. A digitally remastered copy will be provided to NFAI as well,Dhiwar said. The National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka and copyright holder GR Padmaraj,readily agreed for the restoration of this milestone of Sri Lankan film industry,he said.

Nidhanaya will be screened in the Venezia Classic section where restored prints of nine Asian classics would be screened. Other restored films to be screened at the festival are Comrades,Almost a Love Story from Hong Kong,Equinox Flower from Japan,In the Heat of the Sun from China and two Indian films by Satyajit Ray,among others.