Confusion prevailed around the location of the only 35mm print of Celluloid Man, an award-winning documentary by filmmaker activist Shivendra Dungarpur, based on the life of Indian archivist PK Nair. The directors claimed that the shipping company FedEx has misplaced the item during transportation.
“I’m devastated!” said the filmmakers, as per a Bangalore Mirror report. Dungarpur, upon the request of Austrian Film Museum, had shipped eight reels of the 35mm print to Vienna through FedEx on December 11. This was shipped back through the same courier company on January 11 this year.
“After that, we got an email from FedEx requesting that we submit the required paperwork for the clearance which we did. We tracked the shipment online and learnt that it had reached Mumbai on January 16. After waiting for a few days, I wrote to them complaining that my other film, CzechMate – In Search of Jiri Menzel, a seven-hour film screened at UCLA was also stuck with them for months and now this one as well. It’s been almost three weeks since Celluloid Man arrived in the city but it has yet to reach me, They are blaming Customs for the delay, but I fear that they may have lost my film and I am really worried,” said the filmmaker.
On February 4, the filmmaker received a response from the firm which read “We regret to inform you that the shipment is currently not locatable at the custodian. We are trying our level best to locate the missing shipment. We shall keep you posted further.”
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After several delays regarding the status of the shipment, a senior official from the customer care wing of the company finally contacted the filmmaker and said “I think we have located your shipment.” A spokesperson for the company confirmed this news later saying “We have confirmed that the shipment has been located.”
Celluloid Man had won two National Award in 2013 for Best Editing and Best Biographical Film. This was the director’s only remaining 35mm print of the film. He had donated the other one to the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York.
Image Courtesy: Cinestaan