FTII to roll out film-making courses in tier-2 towns

In line with the government’s Skill India initiative, the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, will be running short-term courses to impart skills in film-making across India, especially in tier-2 cities.

These short-term courses will be undertaken under an initiative called, Skilling India in Film and Television (SKIFT).

The first such course has already been conducted in Guwahati and similar courses will be offered in other tier-2 towns.

Earlier, too, FTII had run short-term courses in scriptwriting, acting and film appreciation at Banaras Hindu University at Varanasi.

Official sources said similar courses are being planned at other Central universities as part of the institute’s outreach programme.

The institute has also introduced a new course-based credit system to ensure timely completion of courses. Six of the FTII’s post-graduate diploma courses were granted Master’s Degree equivalence on January 31.

Sources said the Information and Broadcasting Ministry is focussing on various efforts to offer quality education and want FTII to set a benchmark for other academic institutes across the country.

The National Centre of Excellence in Animation and Gaming and Visual Effects is also expected to be launched this year, which aims to provide skilled workforce for this industry, sources added.

It will be established through public-private partnership at Mumbai, and will be set up under the aegis of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. The establishment of this centre is expected to get funding support of about ₹167 crore.