College could collaborate with German film academy
By Shoaib Ahmed
LAHORE The Ministry of Education has approved Rs 40 million for the purchase of equipment to be installed at the Film and Television Department of the National College of Arts (NCA), sources told Daily Times on Friday.
“Proposal for the purchase of the equipment was forwarded to the university a few months ago. It has recently been approved and the funds will be released in the next financial year,” said sources.
Sources said the NCA had paid around seven million rupees for a five-kanal piece of land adjacent to the college owned by Army to set up the Film and TV Department, but the land had not yet been handed over to the college. The land was promised to the college by President Pervez Musharraf at a convocation.
“The plot has not yet been given to us. Therefore, the administration has decided to build two additional storeys on the existing Architecture Department building,” said the NCA sources. They said the department’s studio is planned to be set up at the ground where the second year’s design studio is located. The design studio would be shifted to the architecture block, they added.
They said the Academy for Film and Television in Munich, Germany, had also shown its willingness to collaborate with the NCA’s film and TV department.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has sent Iswasaki Kohie, one of their senior officials, to help the NCA set up the new department. Mr Kohie will help the college select the equipment and develop the curriculum.
“The NCA will organise an Iranian film festival followed by a German film festival as part of its preparatory efforts to start the new department,” said sources. NCA Principal Sajida Wandal also confirmed the Education Ministry’s approval, the college’s collaboration with the German academy and the construction of two additional storeys. “With the establishment of the Film and TV Department, another important art form would formally be introduced to students to explore and integrate in a variety of visual art practices at the NCA,” said Ms Wandal. She said the department would start a four-year study programme, ending with an undergraduate degree and a one-year professional diploma certificate in screenplay writing.
The department’s project was initiated in 2000 and initially a five-member committee, consisting of Roshan Dhanjibouy from the Henrich Boll Foundation, Faryal Gohar, Shireen Pasha, Samina Peerzada and Sajjad Gul, was formed for consultation and assistance. Later, more members were added to the committee and it held several workshops on different aspects of the department. The first workshop was conducted by Faryal Gohar on Fundamentals of Filmmaking, followed by a documentary film production by Shireen Pasha, a video film production by Usman Peerzada, screenplay writing by Wolfgang Laengsfeld from Germany, a Spanish cinema workshop conducted by Don Oscar Peyrou – a Spanish film expert and TV scriptwriting by Haseena Moeen.
Ms Wandal said the college had also planned a six-month course in Multan in collaboration with the Bahauddin Zakariya University. “The course will focus on introducing art creativity to students, enhancing their skills through lectures and talks,” she said. She added that the main areas of the programme would be basic drawing, introduction to painting ceramics and design. Students would be offered three two-week workshops on ceramics, block printing and watercolour painting. Additionally, a study trip to historic monuments in Multan would be organised where students would do onsite drawings.
