NFDC returns with ‘Film Bazaar India – 09’, the annual film market from 24 – 26th Nov in Goa
• Hong Kong Trade Development Corporation, Distributors from Europa Cinemas, and the American Film Institute’s 20/20 participate at Film Bazaar to expand their global film network
• Prim exchange an initiative funded by European Commission aims at market exchange and the exchange of ideas between India and Europe in the field of Film- and TV Production
• Knowledge series by Mani Ratnam, Om Puri and other industry experts
• Representatives from international film festivals like Cannes Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Cannes’ Semaine de la Critique and Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles in connection with the forthcoming editions of these festivals.
National Film Development Corporation Ltd. (NFDC), a Government of India Enterprise, established with a view to encourage and foster the good cinema movement presents ‘Film Bazaar India’ 09’, an annual film market for film industry professionals designed to address the current needs of filmmakers. Film Bazaar aims at creating opportunities for networking and business for producers, filmmakers and distributors from across the world. Film Bazaar also promotes co-productions by facilitating collaboration among potential domestic and international partners.
The idea behind Film Bazaar is to provide a proficient stage for prospective buyers & sellers of film rights from India & abroad. Over the years, Film Bazaar has become more popular. Last year, over 300 delegates from 17 countries had attended Film Bazaar. It is a place to grow ones knowledge and information base solely focused on increasing international trade for film fraternity members from across the country. Film Bazaar witnesses multi-cultural diversity of delegates who come to find people with the same business interests and are seeking to broaden their global network.
Talking about the Film Bazaar Ms Nina Lath Gupta, Managing Director, NFDC said, “Film Bazaar’s main objective is to provide a platform to filmmakers to network and create business opportunities with domestic and international partners. In our endeavour to provide a wide range of services essential to the growth of Indian cinema Film Bazaar this year has lined up Knowledge Series with the industry experts. We will have sessions on Digital Disitribution, Co-production treaties, International Film Financing. There are also representatives from International film festivals like Cannes Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival and others to help the filmmakers understand their festivals and give insights.”
This year the Hong Kong Trade Development Corporation, a delegation of distributors from Europa Cinemas, and the American Film Institute’s 20/20 program will be present at Film Bazaar to further expand their global film network.
Over the years, NFDC has provided a wide range of services essential for the growth of Indian Cinema within the country and abroad. Given the above-stated objective, NFDC has conceptualized, planned and executed some major initiatives that will take place over 3 days from 24th – 26th Nov:
I. Screenwriters Lab: An initiative organized by National Film Development Corporation of India, Binger Filmlab of the Nederlands, the 62nd Locarno Film Festival, and the Entertainment Society of Goa, Screenwriters’ Lab 2009, is a 2-part screenwriters’ workshop for writing and selling original Indian screenplays. The first part was held at Locarno International Film Festival, Locarno, Switzerland in August, 2009 and the 2nd session now culminates at Film Bazaar, Goa from 24th – 26th November 2009. The workshop is being conducted by Marten Rabarts, Artistic Director, Binger Filmlab, in association with some international guest mentors.
After conducting a nationwide search and inviting applicants to submit their screenplay to NFDC, the selection committee selected 6 most promising screenplays out of 92.
The 6 screenplays selected for the 2009 edition of the Screenwriters Lab are: Gangoobai by Priya Krishnaswamy, The Prompter’s Son by Somen Mishra, Vanish by Pratim D. Gupta, Synchronicity by Sidharth Singh & Lalit Ajgaonkar, F 20 by Aparna Pednekar, and Adigaram 79 by Vinod Veera.
II. Co-production Market: This initiative undertaken by NFDC aims to offer selected filmmakers the opportunity to present their feature film projects (in all languages and at any stage of production) to co producers, bankers, funds, sales agents, distributors, TV stations and other potential financiers from India and abroad.
The Co production Market at Film Bazaar presents to the world feature-length (75 mins or more) fiction projects that are Indian stories. At Film Bazaar these selected projects receive the opportunity to be pitched by their representatives to potential collaborators for finance, distribution, and artistic support through one-to-one meetings. All South Asian themed feature-length fiction film projects are eligible, provided they have the potential for co-producing with an international partner. Films must be original, authentic, and have a universal theme.
The feature films selected this year are:
Ceylon by Santosh Sivan
I Am by Onirban
Inside-Out by Ketan Mehta
Keep off the Grass by Ben Rekhi
Manjunath by Sandeep Varma
Obsession by Suman Ghosh
The Return of the Tiger by Mike Pandey
The Virgin Goddess by K.N.T. Sastry
Twosome by Siddharth Sinha
III. Primexchange: The main aim of PRIMEXCHANGE is to initiate market exchange and the exchange of ideas between India and Europe in the field of Film and TV Production.
In order to develop sustainable cooperation between the two continents, the professional training program offers trans-national networking issues as well as potential market analysis for Film and TV Projects from the fields of script analysis, market research, financing/funding, distribution, world sales and games/interactive media, made by Indian and European film industry representatives as well.
It is funded by the European Commission and will be implemented by German based Company PRIMEHOUSE GmbH in co-operation with NFDC.
IV. Work in Progress Lab: The Work in Progress lab is held at Film Bazaar for feature films at a rough cut stage, whose makers are seeking feedback from experienced film professionals from the international community to better understand how their work will be received by the international market and maximise the potential of these in film festivals and international markets.
The Mentors for this section of Film Bazaar are seasoned film professionals and include film editors, film festival directors, film critics, and international sales agents.
V. Knowledge Series: NFDC Knowledge Series presents case studies and presentations by industry experts. They will impart their learning and understanding about a particular topic or sector concerning various aspects of film making. The various Knowledge series lined up are:
• Digital Distribution for Web and mobile by Janet Brown, COO, Cinetic Rights Management
• The Journey from East is East to West is West. Panel discussion with Actor Om Puri, producer Leslee Udwin and others
• De-coding India’s Co-production treaties with UK, Germany, Brazil & Italy by Dina Dattani, Legal Counsel
• International Film Financing
• Discussion with Mani Ratnam on his expertise, his journey so far and his varied body of work
• Case Study on Distribution Reaching Beyond Borders – Panel discussion with The American Film Institute’s project 20/20 in conversation with contemporary Indian filmmakers. The role played by films in reaching beyond borders and breaking down stereotypes.
One of Film Bazaar’s earliest supporters, CineMart of the Rotterdam International Film Festival, will be there to invite a select group of producers to travel to attend the Rotterdam Labs during the CineMart later on in the month. They will also present a Hubert Bals Award to one of the directors from official selection of Film Bazaar co-production projects.
Film Bazaar is supported by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India and the Entertainment Society of Goa. Other key partners are Cinemart and Hubert Bals Fund (Rotterdam Film Festival), Binger Filmlab (Netherlands), Locarno International Film Festival, and Primehouse. The media partners are Screen International, CNBC – TV 18, IndianTelevision.com and 1takemedia.com.
For further information please contact:
Percept Profile (A Division of Percept Ltd) : 044 – 32528800 /43141972
