PTV to revive its Drama and Film Academy, with Pakistan’s first local colour grading training

Islamabad — Pakistan Television’s Drama and Film Academy is to be revived as a modern training institution, Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar announced on Monday, chairing a high-level meeting on the plan. The academy will teach young people professional skills in filmmaking, drama production and digital content creation, and the revamp will also cover PTV Home.

The meeting agreed that a comprehensive strategy should be drawn up, with the emphasis on training that works inside a studio rather than only in a classroom — behind the camera, at the editing desk, and in the making of material for the screen. Tarar said students would get hands-on training in modern studios in collaboration with the private sector, that universities would be brought in as partners, and that PTV’s revenue should rise as a result.

What is colour grading?
The headline item in the announcement is colour grading. In plain terms, it is the post-production stage where the colour and tone of footage are adjusted so that a whole film or episode looks consistent and finished. Until now, Pakistani professionals have had to travel abroad to learn it properly. Tarar said an advanced colour grading programme would now be offered in Pakistan for the first time, giving the local film industry and the private sector access to modern technical training without the trip overseas.

What is proposed?
The proposals discussed at the meeting include modern classrooms and studio laboratories, workstations for students, the appointment of technical staff and trainers, and a comprehensive curriculum. Students would train in a professional environment fitted with modern editing suites and technical equipment. Tarar directed that a transparent, practical pilot project be launched with the private sector, so that the training keeps pace with what the industry actually needs. Equipping young people with practical skills in filmmaking, drama production, editing, colour grading and digital content creation, he said, is among the government’s key priorities.

What is not settled yet?
It is worth being plain about what the announcement did not contain. No budget was given, no start date for the pilot, no fees, no names of private-sector partners, and no figure for how many students the academy will take in its first intake. Those details are still to come, and until they do, the plan remains at the announcement and strategy stage.

Some background
PTV is Pakistan’s state broadcaster, whose first transmission went out from Lahore on 26 November 1964. Its dramas were for years a fixture in Pakistani homes, and this revival is an attempt to join that tradition to new technique. If the pilot genuinely reaches the studio floor, it could put a new generation of behind-the-scenes talent into the industry in the years ahead.