The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is taking a delegation to the ‘Toronto International Film Festival’ from 8-10 September, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. The film festival will also see an India Pavilion which will provide a platform to popularize Indian cinema in the overseas market and facilitate new business opportunities.
Mr Ashok Kumar Parmar, Joint Secretary (Films), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India will represent the Government at the Indian delegation to TIFF 2018. The 15 member Indian Media & Entertainment industry delegation to TIFF 2018 comprises of film makers, directors and producers, distributors, studios, etc.
The objective behind the participation is to promote Indian films across linguistic cultural and regional diversity so as to forge an increasing number of international partnerships in the realms of distribution, production, filming in India, script development and technology, thereby accelerating the growth of film sector in India.
The Indian delegation, through various interactions, will promote ease of shooting films in India through Film Facilitation Office (FFO) that facilitates Single Window Clearance for film-makers and provides the platform for ‘film tourism’ in India. The delegation will showcase India as a post-production hub, promote collaborations for films with international production houses and encourage Indian Panorama Films for sales and syndication.
India has its advantage at every filmmaking process. It has a strong domestic film industry across the country. More than anything else, India has access to world class technicians and equipment; amazing choice of locations to shoot any type of film. Skilled professionals are available across the country. India is gearing up for the 49th edition of International Film Festival Of India, Goa from 20 November to 28 November 2018.
The market potential for Indian content in Toronto is huge because of the strong presence of the Indian diaspora and great interest in Indian Cinema. India-Canada are in a co-production treaty and the delegation will explore opportunities to work on co-producing films with Canada.
This year there are many Indian films that are being screened at TIFF, including Manmarziyaan (Husband Material) directed by Anurag Kashyap (Galas 2018), Manto directed by Nandita Das (Special Presentations 2018), Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota (The Man Who Feels No Pain) directed by Vasan Bala (Midnight Madness 2018), Bulbul Can Sing directed by Rima Das (Contemporary World Cinema), The Sweet Requiem directed by Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam (Contemporary World Cinema), Reason directed by Anand Patwardhan (TIFF Docs), Circle directed by Jayisha Patel (Short Cuts 2018) UK/Canada/India and The Field directed by Sandhya Suri (Short Cuts 2018) France/UK/India.
With 1500 feature films produced in the country, more than 900 television channels, 450 million internet users, 350 million smart phone users, India’s vibrant media and entertainment (M&E) industry provides attractive growth opportunities for global corporations.