India Pavilion is set to be inaugurated at Cannes Film Festival, which will be held from 14th to 25th May 2019. The Pavilion will showcase Indian cinema across linguistic, cultural and regional diversity, with the aim of forging international partnerships in distribution, production, filming in India, script development, technology, promoting film sales and syndication. It will be set up by Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in association with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The Pavilion serves as a platform for the Indian Delegates to meet International Delegates attending the Festival to promote networking with other countries and organizations. The Pavilion also serves as an information dissemination point about India and Indian Cinema for the Global Film Community.
The Indian Delegation this year will be led by Shri Amit Khare, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. The Film Delegation would consist of Shri Prasoon Joshi, Chairman, CBFC and acclaimed filmmakers Shri Rahul Rawail, Shri Shaji N. Karun and Shri Madhur Bhandarkar.
During the Festival, the Indian Delegation will be interacting with key stakeholders of Cannes as well as other members of the film fraternity. A key focus area of the Indian Delegation this year will be to promote the Golden Jubilee Edition of International Film Festival of India to be held in Goa later this year. A specially designed IFFI poster for the Golden Jubilee Edition will also be released during the Festival.
The Delegation will also popularise steps taken to ease shooting films in India through Film Facilitation Office that facilitates Single Window Clearance for film-makers and steps by the Government to combat film piracy. To take advantage of availability of technicians and skilled professionals, India will be showcased as a post-production hub to promote collaborations for films with international production houses. A comprehensive Film Guide will also be distributed at the India Pavilion to showcase the importance of the film ecosystem and Government incentives to shoot in India.
Elaborating further, Shri Amit Khare, Secretary, I&B Ministry said that “the initiatives such as co-production and single window clearance would facilitate integration of the Indian Film makers with production houses worldwide.” He further added that “it would be possible for filmmakers of different countries to come together under bilateral co-production agreements. These arrangements would also forge new markets and wider audiences by making India a hub for shooting world class international movies.”