##### India Post to Release Special Postal Cover on Film Heritage Foundation's 10th Anniversary*

**New Delhi/Mumbai, June 8, 2024** | In recognition of the exceptional and ongoing efforts to preserve, restore, and showcase India's rich and diverse film heritage, the Indian Postal Department will issue a special postal cover and stamp on June 14 in Mumbai to mark the 10th anniversary of the Film Heritage Foundation (2014-2024).

Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Director of the Film Heritage Foundation, announced that the special postal cover and stamp will be unveiled at the beautiful heritage building of the V.T. General Post Office (GPO) in Mumbai. The event will feature the Chief Postmaster General of Maharashtra and other distinguished guests.

The special postal cover, made with foil and embossing, includes a ₹5 stamp. It depicts Shivendra Singh Dungarpur and scenes of celluloid film preservation restored by the Film Heritage Foundation. This limited edition cover will be available at the Philately Bureau of the General Post Office (GPO) in Mumbai.

Reflecting on this honor, Shivendra Singh Dungarpur said, "Since childhood, I have enjoyed collecting stamps, writing letters, and visiting post offices—a passion instilled by my grandfather, who was an avid letter-writer until the age of 90. To this day, I continue to write and post letters and visit post offices in every city and town I travel to. Therefore, it is a profound honor to receive a letter from the Chief Postmaster General appreciating over a decade of our work in preserving our film heritage and announcing the release of a special cover for the 10th anniversary of the Film Heritage Foundation. I am thrilled by the Indian Postal Department's recognition of the importance of our film heritage and the depiction of the challenges of preserving celluloid on the special cover. On behalf of my team at the Film Heritage Foundation, I accept this honor, which has put film preservation on the map in India and the subcontinent and enabled us to restore and celebrate the beauty of our film heritage worldwide. I thank Chief Postmaster General Kishan Kumar Sharma and Mumbai Postmaster General Amitabh Singh for this honor."

### About the Film Heritage Foundation

Founded in 2014, the Film Heritage Foundation is a Mumbai-based non-profit organization dedicated to the restoration, preservation, and repair of moving images, and to raising public awareness about cinema. It is the only non-governmental organization in the country working in the field of film preservation. Since 2015, the foundation has been a member of the International Federation of Film Archives.

The foundation has preserved around 700 films, including celluloid films, and has a collection of approximately 200,000 film-related memorabilia, including cameras, projectors, posters, song booklets, lobby cards, books, and magazines. The foundation's activities encompass film and memorabilia preservation, film restoration, training programs, children's workshops, oral history projects, exhibitions, festival curation, and publications.

Internationally acclaimed, the foundation has restored forgotten Indian films like Aravindan Govindan's 'Kummatty' and 'Thamp,' Aribam Syam Sharma's 'Ishanou,' and Shyam Benegal's 'Manthan.' These restored films have been showcased at prestigious festivals, museums, and universities worldwide. The restored films 'Thamp,' 'Ishanou,' and 'Manthan' were chosen for red-carpet world premieres at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022, 2023, and 2024, respectively. 'Manthan' was recently re-released on the big screen in 51 cities and 101 cinemas across India.

Since 2015, the foundation has held annual film preservation workshops in collaboration with the International Federation of Film Archives, which have become templates for the federation's global training and outreach programs. Until 2022, these workshops were open to applicants from India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bhutan, and Myanmar. The 2023 workshop was open to participants worldwide, training around 400 participants over the years.

The Film Heritage Foundation has become a movement for film preservation in India and the Asian subcontinent, creating a global community of film collectors.