4th Edition of NFDC’s ‘Film Bazaar India - 10’ begins with aplomb
For the 1st time film makers from SAARC nations participate at the premiere 4 day annual film market
HIGHLIGHTS
· Inclusion of projects from the SAARC nations in Co-production Market for the first time
· For the 1st time Industry Screenings being organized in collaboration with UFO Moviez
· Film makers can showcase their films in 2D as well as 3D format to international buyers & International film festival representatives/agents
· Representatives of leading International film festivals like Cannes, Venice, Sundance, Locarno etc to interact with attendees
· ‘Master Class’ by acclaimed Turkish-German film maker Fatih Akin
Goa, November 2010: National Film Development Corporation Ltd. (NFDC), a Government of India Enterprise, established with a view to encourage and foster the good cinema movement kick starts its annual event “Film Bazaar India 2010”. The 4 day film market for film industry professionals from across the globe is 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. This year for the 1st time with an aim to provide global platform, NFDC has included projects from SAARC Nations for the co-production market. The Film Bazaar is being held from 23rd to 26th November at Marriott Resort, Goa alongside the International Film Festival of India. The 4th edition of Film Bazaar promises to be a film market of international caliber with some more offerings than the previous years.
Film Bazaar has grown and gained wide popularity in the international film circuit since its inception in 2007. This year prominent international buyers and sales agents like Farabi Foundation (Iran), Cinetic Rights Management (USA), Fortissimo Films (UK), The Yellow Affair (Finland), Rapid Eye Movies (Germany), Wide Management (France), Railto, (Netherland), Hanway Films (UK) and Wild Bunch (France) have participated at the market with sales and production interest.
Elaborating on the uniqueness of this year’s Film Bazaar Ms Nina Lath Gupta, Managing Director, NFDC said, “In our endeavour to promote & encourage good cinema we strive to offer something new and provide a platform to share knowledge beneficial to film makers. This year for the 1st time we have participants from SAARC countries. We are more than happy to have film makers from the SAARC nations participate in Film Bazaar and use this platform to interact with film makers from across the world. Over the years Film Bazaar has grown and gained popularity within the domestic and international film market. We hope more people from the film industry participate in this networking event to enhance their knowledge.”
The idea behind Film Bazaar is to provide a proficient stage for prospective buyers & sellers of film rights from India & abroad. Last year, over 350 delegates from 22 countries had attended Film Bazaar. Film Bazaar witnesses multi-cultural diversity of delegates who come to find people with the same business interests. Film Bazaar also provides excellent platform to understand film business in the international markets and exchange of ideas.
This year NFDC has conceptualized, planned and executed the following initiatives for Film Bazaar:
1. Active participation of the film fraternity from the SAARC nations for Co - Production: The objective behind this is to present a window for film makers from these countries to various buyers and sellers from all around the world. Continuing the age old tradition of improving trade relations between these countries, NFDC will play a pivotal role in facilitating in-depth interaction of the film trade from these countries with the world. The film makers get an opportunity to pitch their projects to potential collaborators for finance, distribution and artistic support. Projects from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan & Sri Lanka will be part of Film Bazaar 2010, enclosed below are the selected projects:
· Afghanistan: Under The Red Line - Director: Diana Saqeb
· Bhutan: Vara (The Boon) - Director: Khyentse Norbu
· Nepal: Goodbye Katmandu - Director: Nabin Subba
· Pakistan: Untitled - Mehreen Jabbar
· Sri Lanka: Karma - Director: Prasanna Jayakody
· Bangladesh: Tune of Silence - Director: Golam Rabbany Biplob & Television - Director:
Mostafa Sarwar Farooki
2. Industry Screenings: This year for the 1st time Film Bazaar will organize industry screenings for film makers to show case their films to potential producers, distributors, agents, buyers and festival directors of international film festivals. The state-of-the-art screening facility will have multiple screens of 12-seater theatres and will be have Digital and 3D compatible projection to portray their work in its complete essence. This will also help the international buyers to make informed & quick decisions on the various projects they are interested in. These theatres have been set-up in collaboration with UFO Moviez, the world’s largest digital satellite cinema network.
3. Meet the Festivals: This forum in Film Bazaar will have festival Directors and representatives of various film festivals present to interact with the patrons. Festival representatives from Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Locarno Film Festival, Durban International Film Festival, Chicago International Film Festival & Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles will interact with the attendees of Film Bazaar. This year the bazaar goers will get a chance to interact with the festival representatives of these prominent global film fests and showcase their films.
4. Screenwriters Lab: This initiative is organized by National Film Development Corporation of India, Binger Filmlab of the Nederlands & Locarno Film Festival. Screenwriters’ Lab is 2-part screenwriters’ workshop designed to prepare screenwriters’ with original Indian stories for working with the international filmmaking market place. It aims at improving a completed screenplay in its final stages and to increase the international marketability of the same. The first part was held at Locarno International Film Festival, Locarno, Switzerland and the 2nd session will culminate at Film Bazaar, Goa. The workshop is conducted by Marten Rabarts, Artistic Director, Binger Filmlab, in association with some international guest mentors. After conducting a nationwide search the selection committee selected 6 most promising screenplays.
* Shab - Onir
* In This World - Ben Rekhi
* Untitled - Seema's Story – Madhvi Purohit
* D End - Shlok Sharma
* Lovely Insane - B.S. Vasan
* Four Colours - Bikas Mishra
5. 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. 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. NFDC has also partnered with Moscow Co-production Forum. Under this alliance, each partner organization selects one project to take part in the Moscow Co Production Forum and in Film Bazaar in Goa. Director Alexandra Val’s ‘Good Luck with the Jacket’ has been selected under this initiative. This year a total of 19 projects have been selected for Co-production market, few of the feature films selected this year are:
· Chhota Aadmi (The Little Man): Director Ajitpal Singh / Producer Rapid Eye Movies
Germany-India (Hindi)
· Deool (Temple): Director Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni / Producer Devisha Films
India (Marathi)
· Echoes: Director Rajesh Shera / Producers Rajesh Shera & Peter James Kirby
India – UK (English/Hindi/Dutch)
· Himmat Singh Ki Symphony: Director Vivek Agnihotri / Producer Atharvva Communications
India (Hindi)
· Idgah: Director Piyush C Panjuani / Producer Equus
India (Hindi)
· Shanghai: Director Dibakar Banerjee / Producers Dibakar Banerjee Productions & PVR Pictures
India (Hindi)
· Tara Gandhi: Director Joana Cunha Ferreira / Producer Midas Filmes
Portugal (Hindi/ English)
· The Story Of Ram: Director Ritesh J Batra / Producers Ritesh J Batra & Claudia Munoz-Campos
India (Hindi)
· Travel Notes: Director Wi Dong Ho / Producers Robert Small Entertainment (RSE) & StOMM
USA (English)
· Urban Moon: Director Anil Thomas / Producer Anurag Kashyap Films Pvt. Ltd.
India (Hindi)
· Vijeta: Director Alka Raghuram / Producers Sequoia Films, Kria Entertainment, Alliance Media
France – India (Hindi)
Partner Project - presented by Moscow Co-Production Forum
· Good Luck With The Jacket: Director Alexandra Val / Producer Film Studio Alval Ltd.
Bulgaria (Bulgarian/ Russian/ Italian)
6. PrimeExchange: 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.
7. Work in Progress Lab: The Work in Progress lab is held 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 maximize the potential of these in film festivals and international markets. The Mentors for this section are seasoned film professionals and include film editors, film festival directors, film critics, and international sales agents.This year the following projects have been selected for WIP:
· Sahi Dhande Galat Bande (Hindi) - Director: Parvin Dabbas
· Baboo Band Baaja (Marathi) - Director: Rajesh Pinjani
· Tendulkar Out!!! (Marathi) - Director: Swapnaneel Jayakar
· Karmayogi (Malyalam) - Director: V.K.Prakash
8. Knowledge Series: NFDC Knowledge Series started last year 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. Industry veterans like Shyam Benegal, Mani Ratnam, Om Puri, Leslee Udwin, Dina Dattani have participated. This year Turkish-German Film maker, Fatih Akin will conduct a Masterclass at Film Bazaar with an introdcution by Anurag Kashyap and Raju Hirani alongwith Abhijat Joshi will talk about script writing in India. Sanjay Suri will talk on ‘Raising Independent Finance – Case study of I AM’.