India Pavilion Is a Great Success at the Cannes Film Festival

India Pavilion is a great success at the Cannes Film Festival

Cannes, 19 May 2014: The India Pavilion at the 67 th Cannes Film Festival has been seeing spectacular success for the last three days. Organized by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the packed pavilion was inaugurated on 15 th May by His Excellency Arun K. Singh, Indian Ambassador to France; Shri Bimal Julka, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India; Indian cinema legend Dr Kamal Haasan; veteran filmmaker and producer Ramesh Sippy; renowned filmmaker Sudhir Mishra; Uday Chopra, actor, producer, and CEO, YRF Entertainment; screenwriter Arash Amel; Jerome Paillard, Executive Director, Cannes Film Market; Dr A. Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI; and filmmaker and producer Bobby Bedi. The pavilion has seen a lot of interesting activity, with hoards of people jostling for space as they watch the interactive sessions. The inaugural day, 15 th May, saw a session on 'The Making of Grace of Monaco' – featuring Uday Chopra and Jonathan Reiman from YRF Entertainment – one of the producers of the opening film at the festival – and Arash Amel, the writer of the film. Anchored by Patrick Frater, Asia Bureau Chief of Variety, the discussion hinted at interesting growth and expansion for Indian cinema in the international space by means of collaboration and co-production.

A very special session, 'The Journey to Cannes', was organized at the pavilion for 'Titli', India's official entry in the Un Certain Regard section of the festival. (Also selected to the festival's Critics Week section is another Indian film, Gitanjali Rao's 'TrueLoveStory'.) The cast and crew of 'Titli' – director Kanu Behl; actors Ranvir Shorey and Shashank Arora; writer Sharat Katariya; editor Namrata Rao; Avtar Panesar, VP, International Operations, Yash Raj Films; and Guneet Monga, Founder, Sikhya Entertainment, and CEO, Anurag Kashyap Films Pvt. Ltd – were felicitated by the Ministry of I&B, and spoke about their experience of making the film and being selected to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival.

A remarkable feature of the activities at this year's India Pavilion at the Cannes Film Market was exclusive networking receptions co-hosted by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, and film bodies, producers and filmmakers from three countries: New Zealand, Australia and Germany. The New Zealand event was organized in coordination with the New Zealand Film Commission; the delegation was led by NZFC CEO Dave Gibson, and comprised filmmakers and producers from the country; Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason led the Australia contingent; and German Films organized the third event. The Indian guest list saw representation from filmmakers, producers and industry body members at Cannes this year. This new initiative is aimed at promoting and forging ties for co-production and partnerships between India and these countries. On the sidelines of these events were structured B2B meetings between Indian delegates and international stakeholders in order to facilitate business promotion and explore opportunities for partnership between the Indian film community and the global one.

Also at the pavilion on 16 th and 17 th May were sessions on co-production with representatives from India and six other countries, and a discussion on Single Window Clearance, the Ministry of I&B's initiative for promoting hassle-free film shooting for the global film community in India; Dr Kamal Haasan interviewed by critic and anchor Anupama Chopra; filmmakers Ramesh Sippy, Sudhir Mishra and Bobby Bedi in conversation about Indian cinema today and going forward, and Indian films at Cannes over the years. The international presence at the India Pavilion comprised luminaries such as His Excellency Richard Wells, Amanda Nevill, Chief Executive, British Film Institute; Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director, Toronto International Film Festival; Dave Gibson, CEO, New Zealand Film Commission; Carolle Brabant, Executive Director, Telefilm Canada; Franck Priot, Deputy Director, Film France; Afghan filmmaker Atiq Rahimi; Karen Thorne-Stone, CEO-President, Ontario Media Development Corporation; Graeme Mason, CEO, Screen Australia; Benoit Ginistry, Director General, FIAPF; Australian producer Robyn Kershaw; Colin Burrows, CEO, Special Treats Productions; Cindy Shyu, CEO, Light House Productions, China; Pierre Assouline, Owner, Producer, Only Films, Paris, and Westeast Films, Mumbai; Poland Film Commission, and many others.

The Indian presence at the India Pavilion also included film industry stalwarts such as Film Federation of India President Ravi Kottarakara, T.P. Aggarwal, the first Indian Vice President of FIAPF, and Film & TV Producers Guild of India CEO Kulmeet Makkar.

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