The Many Lives of Cinema

Popular cinema both shapes, and is shaped, by the world we live in; our social realities, our politics, and our perception of ourselves and others. However, what are the stories that we can find outside of the cinematic context itself? Explore the visual culture that surrounds cinematic production, and join us for this Film Ephemera Symposium that focuses on the nature, and possibilities of film ephemera as both object and subject. 

Film ephemera – including posters, lobby stills, lobby cards, and songbooks – were popularly designed in the 20th century as promotional materials. They were meant to communicate information and excite and thrill audiences, giving them a taste of what to expect. What happens when they have ceased to serve their function? What happens when they move from streets and theatres to museums and archives? What can we learn from them about the past and how can we engage with them in the contemporary moment? 

This symposium positions the archive as a living entity—an interactive repository of knowledge that goes beyond preservation to inspire future dialogues. It brings together film historians, museum professionals, archivists, artists and scholars to explore the challenges and opportunities that lie in creating, accessing and working with film ephemera. 

From the technologies and larger visual histories of the time, to the passion of fandom and embedded identity politics, each encounter with an object from the archive can create fresh meanings and offer new interpretations. By fostering dialogues around this, the symposium aims to bridge academic inquiry and public engagement, encouraging a reimagining of film ephemera as vibrant touch points between memory, materiality and collective identity.

Programme Schedule

9:00 am to 10:00 am – Registration

10:00 am to 10:15 am – Opening Remarks

10:15 am to 11:00 am – Keynote Address by Ashish Rajadhyaksha 

11:15 am to 12:45 pm – Panel 1: Reframing the Image: History, Politics and Art – Amarnath Praful, Rajan Kurai Krishnan and Ranjani Mazumdar. Moderated by S V Srinivas

12:50 pm to 1:00 pm – Screening of “Blueprint of a Pleasure Machine” by Amit Dutta

2:00 pm to 2:45 pm –  Walkthrough at Sasken Multimedia Gallery 

2:45 pm to 3:30 pm – Walkthrough at Sasken Multimedia Gallery 

2:00 pm to 3:30 pm – Poster-making Workshop by Prashanth C

2:00 pm to 3:30 pm – Ragas in Bollywood by Priya Kanungo

4:00 pm to 5:00 pm – Panel 2: Reframing the Object: Materiality, Memory and the Archive – Iyesha Geeth Abbas, and Murchana Borah. Moderated by: Mandara Vishwanath

5:00 pm to 6:00 pm – Panel 3: Reframing the Story:  Interventions, Interpretations and Imaginations – Balaji Maheshwar and Clare Arni. Moderated by Ritwika Misra

6:30 pm to 8:00 pm – Musical performance by Digging in India

Download a pdf version of the detailed schedule and speaker list by clicking on this link.

For further insight on the panel discussions and speaker details, click on this link.

Please write to abiraami.ps@map-india.org for general queries related to the symposium.

For Information on accessibility support:
Write to mounika.nallani@map-india.org. You can refer to the accessibility features mentioned here.