• Minister urges international film fraternity to invest and shoot in India 

NEW DELHI, 22 JUNE, 2020 (GPN): Mr Prakash Javadekar, Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Govt of India today while inaugurating the virtual India Pavilion at Cannes Film Market 2020, urged the international film fraternity to invest and shoot in India and sell in the international market. FICCI has been managing the Indian Pavilion on behalf of the Ministry since 2014 at Cannes. 

Mr Javadekar said that I&B Ministry will assist the industry in connecting with the right people. The Central and State governments and other related permissions will come in one go for the film industry, which will save time and cost. He added that the film facilitation office has facilitated 80 foreign film shooting and having identified the lacunas, the Ministry is working on correcting them.

The Minister said that the strength of Indian cinema lies in its rich content, which is appreciated globally. “I am confident that the two films representing India at Cannes this year will be appreciated,” he added. MrJavadekar said that virtual conferences and virtual meetings are the new normal. The virtual India Pavilion at the Cannes Film Market will become the real partnership place for filmmakers.

During the virtual inauguration,  Mr. Javadekar unveiled the International Film Festival of India’s (IFFI) booklet and poster. The 50th edition of IFFI will be held from 20 to 28 November 2019.

Ms Shrila Dutta Kumar, Minister (Consular), Embassy of India to France said that the embassy would like to assure all stakeholders of the film industry in India of its assistance to promote cooperative ventures with France in filmmaking. She added that to encourage filmmakers, some tax rebates are also offered to foreign film companies.

Mr Amit Khare, Secretary, Ministry of I&B, Govt of India said that the Government of India is committed to supporting the film industry. The ideas of the industry to set up a film facilitation office and single window clearances have helped in furthering the cause of the industry. He added that to mark the centenary year of the legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray, which will fall on 2 May 2021, Indian government is planning a big event at Cannes next year.

Mr Atul Kumar Tiwari, Additional Secretary, Ministry of I&B, Govt of Indiasaid that Cannes has been a hub of activities for years. It is here that Indian filmmakers can collaborate with international filmmakers and explore opportunities of working and shooting in India. 

Mr Prasoon Joshi, Poet, Screenwriter & Chairman, CBFC said that cinema has become hardwired into an essential need for humans. There would be a void if we remove entertainment from our lives. He added that Cannes has always celebrated the nuance and it will be a return and rebirth of nuance at the film market this year.  

Mr Madhur Bhandarkar, National Award Winning Director said that there is a need to encourage foreign producers to come to India for film shooting. India has a huge market and a great landscape in terms of making movies. “Art has no boundaries and we should collaborate with foreign stakeholders so that our films go global,” he added. 

Mr D Suresh Babu, National Representative, Active Telugu Film Makers Guild said that South India has high quality post production facilities available for collaboration. There is an opportunity to work with foreign filmmakers and corporates and added that such collaborations can put Indian film industry on the world map.

Ms Kangana Ranaut, Film Personality said that in these times of isolation, it is important to have virtual platforms to reach out to the global community. She added that the way we consume art may change but art is an essential commodity for civilized culture is very reassuring.

Mr Dilip Chenoy, Secretary General, FICCI said that given the COVID-19 situation, the India Pavilion this year has been organized virtually as part of the virtual Cannes Film Market from 22-26 June 2020.

Ms TCA Kalyani, Joint Secretary (Films), Ministry of I&B, Govt of India; Mr Colin Burrows, Special Treats Productions and Ms Usha Jadhav, Actor, Mai Ghat also spoke on the occasion. 

The India Pavilion would serve as an information dissemination point about India and the Indian cinema for the global film community. The pavilion would also facilitate business meetings and linkages between filmmakers and other media and entertainment industry stakeholders. The pavilion is organising various sessions on areas of topical interest: Future of films in a post COVID world, Come, Film in India, Taking Indian Content to Global Markets: Importance and Role of film festivals in the age of Digital Platforms, Export of Indian Film Services to the world/Servicing the World Entertainment, and Reenergising co-productions. Three roundtables, with Film Commissions, Film Festivals and Film Funds are also set to be organized to discuss threadbare the ideas on promoting Indian films and to anchor partnerships between the domestic and global media and entertainment industry players. ENDS