Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar on Monday directed the formulation of a detailed strategy to revive the Pakistan Television (PTV) Drama and Film Academy as a modern training institution. The aim is to give young people professional skills in filmmaking, drama production, and digital content creation. The minister was chairing a high-level meeting to review plans for the academy’s revival and for revamping PTV Home through specialised training programmes, modern technical facilities, and practical, industry-oriented training models. Federal Secretary for Information Ashfaq Ahmed Khalil and senior officials of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting attended the meeting.
The meeting reviewed several training models that have been proposed in collaboration with the private sector. The focus is on providing hands-on professional training to young people while creating new sources of revenue for Pakistan Television. Tarar said the revival of the academy and the revamping of PTV Home are part of the government’s commitment to promoting the media and creative industries. He directed that a transparent and practical pilot project be launched with the private sector, so that the training stays aligned with the changing needs of the industry. He said all necessary steps would be taken to make the academy an effective and fully functional institution that meets modern requirements, and that its financial sustainability would be ensured alongside its transformation into a professional training centre.
A new advanced training programme in colour grading is one of the main announcements. Tarar said that professionals previously had to travel abroad to receive training and access modern facilities in this specialised field. Colour grading is the post-production process of adjusting the colours and tones of footage to give a film or drama a consistent look, and it is a skill that productions often outsource. The minister said having advanced colour-grading facilities in Pakistan would give the film industry and the private sector access to modern technical training and resources, and help improve the quality of local filmmaking. He described equipping young people with practical skills in filmmaking, drama production, editing, colour grading, and digital content creation as a key priority.
The meeting also looked at the physical and staffing requirements. The proposals include modern classrooms and studio laboratories, workstations for students, technical staff and trainers, and a curriculum. Students would train in a professional environment with modern editing suites, studio laboratories, and technical equipment, and the training would focus on practical assignments, project development, and portfolio building and not only on theory. Tarar said creative projects by young people would be encouraged for PTV News, PTV Home, and other PTV platforms, which would give emerging talent a way to show their work. He said the initiatives would help develop a skilled workforce, introduce advanced technical expertise, and make modern production facilities available in the country. APP’s report does not give a budget, a start date for the pilot, the names of private sector partners, or the number of students the academy will admit, so those details have yet to be announced.
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