I&B Ministry to release “India Film Guide for Cannes” at the 67th Annual Cannes Film Festival

Participation to focus on Co-production, Single Window Clearance and Film Heritage

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting will be participating at the 67^th Annual Cannes Film Festival scheduled to be held from 14^th May to 25^th May. The India Pavilion will showcase Indian cinema across linguistic, cultural and regional diversity, with the aim of forging an increasing number of international partnerships in the realm of distribution, production, filming in India, script development and technology, and promoting film sales and syndication. The initiatives undertaken to promote co-production between stakeholders, viability of the Single Window Clearance mechanism and the possibility of enhanced cooperation within the domain of film archiving in the backdrop of the National Film Heritage Mission will be focus areas for interaction with foreign producers and organizations associated with the film industry.

One of the key highlights will be the release of the Resource guide on Films brought out by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The guide, the first of its kind to be released at Cannes aims to position India as a “Filming Destination”. The resource guide has catalogued information on film policies, movies for sales and distribution. The guide has exhaustive descriptions of the policy initiatives of the ministry, its affiliated bodies; details of all India’s co-production agreements; all Indian films at Cannes and visiting Indian delegates; key databases pertaining to the sector and the winners of this year’s national awards.

 The resource book is expected to act as a catalyst in view of the branding of the India Pavilion.The India Pavilion aims to bring about substantial interest from the international community in exploiting India’s full potential as the largest film-making nation in the world. India has the most vibrant film sector and is currently occupying a significant space in the global arena. India produces over 1000 films in more than a dozen languages annually.

The India Pavilion will be will be inaugurated by Shri Bimal Julka, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and Shri Arun K Singh, Indian Ambassador to France alongwith  Mr Jerome Paillard, Director, Marche du Film (the Cannes Film Market). Also expected to be present on the occasion is the producer Mr. Uday Chopra, who is also one of the producers of the festival’s opening film, Olivier Dahan’s Grace of Monaco. There will also be a  discussion and felicitation of Titli, India’s official selection at the festival along with the cast and crew including director Kanu Behl.

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting will be organizing interactive sessions with Indian and international film industry stakeholders at the India Pavilion. Some of the prominent speakers at the India Pavilion are expected to be  Dave Gibson, CEO, New Zealand Film Commission; Cindy Shyu, CEO Lighthouse Productions, China; Colin Burrows, CEO, Special Treats Productions; and crew members from Grace of Monaco, the opening film at the festival. The Pavilion will also be showcasing trailers of recent Indian films and displaying brochures and other literature of Indian film companies.