Enamoured by Pakistani cinema after watching the critically acclaimed "Khuda Kay Liye", a Frenchman is now working to promote and preserve the country's film heritage. Philippe Jalladeau, a researcher of cinematography who is on a mission to promote and archive films across the globe, says when he decided to travel to Pakistan, people told him that there was nothing to discover there. But Pakistanis already have a lot to thank Jalladeau for. He has helped promote "Jago Hua Savera", a 1958 classic that won Pakistan a prize at the Moscow Film Festival. "When I saw the film I felt that it is the most beautiful film ever made in Pakistan. I have seen it three times and I discovered that it is a delicate film and the script is a beautiful construction, the actors are good, everything is good," Jalladeau told NOS magazine. "Jago", which was written by legendary Urdu poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz and directed by Asejay Kardar, was set in a village in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and revolved around the struggle of poor fishermen. Kardar hired a foreign crew, including well-known photographers Walter Lassally and Sadhan Roy, to shoot the movie. The sound and editing too were done abroad. Asserting that there is more to Pakistani cinema than its notorious reputation of mediocrity, Jalladeau said, "The village shown in the film is a living village, it is not something just on reel and you don't feel the filming. It feels as if you are living in this village and are with these people not some people merely seen on celluloid." MORE PTI RHL The cinematography researcher got a copy of "Jago" from an archive in Britain, where the film was premiered 50 years ago. Having organised the screening of the film in Lahore and Karachi to celebrate its 50 years, the Frenchman now has other plans up his sleeve. "I have several plans. The first one is to make many copies of this film as there is only one print at the moment. More copies have to be made on DVDs and then shown to young and aspiring filmmakers as it is a piece of education for them," Jalladeau said. He also wants to build an archive for Pakistani cinema. "Do you know Pakistan is one of the few countries that doesn't have a proper archive? Bangladesh has one, even Afghanistan has an archive, so why not Pakistan? "So 'Jago..' can be the first film that can be deposited in the archive and I wish it would happen. It is very important to conserve the heritage of Pakistani cinema for future reference," said Jalladeau, who lectures on cinema across the globe.