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16 May, 2014

First India Film Guide released at Cannes

Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, 15-May-2014 – The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting which is participating in the 67th Annual Cannes Film Festival today released the  India Film Guide at the India Pavilion. Speaking on the occasion, Secretary, I&B, Mr Bimal Julka said the Resource guide endeavours to promote 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.

He said  the initiatives such as Co-production and Single Window Clearance would facilitate integration of the Indian film-makers with production houses worldwide. The guide, the first of its kind to be released at Cannes, aims to position India as a “Filming Destination”. Emphasizing the importance of the audio-visual co-production agreements, Mr Julka said that the gives detailed information about similar co-production agreements signed with other countries such as UK, Canada, Germany, Brazil, Italy, Spain, Poland and New Zealand.

Negotiations with Korea, Australia, China and Japan were being undertaken. He added that it would be now possible for filmmakers of different countries to come together and make films under bilateral co-production agreements. Bringing different nationalities together, these arrangements would also forge new markets and wider audiences. Opening up Indian consumer market to foreign producers, these films would also be eligible for National Film Awards and Indian panorama Section of IFFI.

India claims to be the largest film-making nation in the world, with an annual output in excess of 1,000 films in more than a dozen languages.

The Secretary also highlighted the recent initiatives in the Film sector pertaining to the National Museum of Indian Cinema, housed in a heritage building called Gulshan Mahal. This heritage site would act as a ready-reckoner of the history of Indian cinema showcasing technological aspects of production and screening of films, as well as its social aspects in the past century.

Highlighting the importance of Indian cinematic history, Mr Julka said that the Ministry of I & B was in the process of launching the National Film Heritage Mission (NFHM) to digitize best of Indian cinematic works and archive them for the future generations. The possibility of enhanced cooperation within the domain of film archiving in the backdrop of the National Film Heritage Mission would be one of the focus areas for interaction with foreign producers and organizations associated with the film industry at Cannes.

The pavilion was inaugurated by Mr Julka, Mr Arun K. Singh, India’s Ambassador to France, cine star Kamal Haasan who is also the Chairman of FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee – South. Also present were renowned director and producer Ramesh Sippy, Dr A. Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI; actor Uday Chopra and Jerome Paillard, Executive Director, Marche du Film Festival de Cannes.

The inaugural address was followed by a discussion on “The Making of Grace of Monaco” – the opening film of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival – with crew members from the film. There will also be a special session on Titli, India’s official entry to Cannes. Titled “The Journey to Cannes”, this session will feature Kanu Behl, the director of Titli; Avtar Panesar, Vice President, International Operations, Yash Raj Films; Guneet Monga, Founder, Sikhya Entertainment, and CEO, Anurag Kashyap Films Pvt. Ltd; and Ranvir Shorey, one of the stars of Titli.