Tarar announces revival of PTV drama and film academy

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Monday that the government will restore and modernise the Pakistan Television Drama and Film Academy and open it to young people seeking training in filmmaking and digital production.

In a statement posted on X, Tarar said he had chaired a meeting on the academy's revival and on giving it what he called a new direction. The Nation reported that the minister ordered the revival at that meeting.

Tarar said the academy would offer specialised colour-grading training inside Pakistan for the first time, so that people entering the trade could learn the skill at home instead of travelling abroad.

Under the plan he described, private companies would provide practical training in modern studios. The programme would cover film production, television dramas and digital content creation. Universities would be brought in as partners to widen the training and to connect media education with the industry.

Tarar said the revival would also help raise PTV's revenue and expressed hope that it would prove a turning point for the country's media sector, according to Minute Mirror.

The statement gave no budget, no location, no enrolment figure and no date for the academy to reopen.

Colour grading is the post-production stage in which the colour and look of a film or a drama are set. Tarar said the skill is currently learned abroad by Pakistanis who want to work in it.

PTV is the state broadcaster, and the academy named in the announcement is its training arm for drama and film. The minister's statement did not say whether the revived academy would admit students from outside PTV or how they would be selected.

Speaking about the private sector role, Tarar said studios would take part in the practical side of the training rather than only the classroom teaching. He did not name any of the companies or universities that would be involved.