NFDC’s 5th Film Bazaar opened by I&B Minister Ambika Soni at Goa
The intent of the Government of India to develop Goa’s Film Bazaar into a major film market was expressed in I&B Minister’s speech at the 42nd IFFI’s inauguration ceremony when she made a specific reference to it. She reiterated the resolve of the government yet again at the opening of the 4-day long Film Bazaar at Goa’s Marriot Hotel on 24th November, 2011, amidst an impressive crowd of India’s new age and new wave filmmakers including Abhay Deol, Anurag Kashyap, and Dibakar Banerjee and the other foreign and Indian film aficionados, and delegates.
The I&B Minister Ambika Soni talked about expanding the NFDC’s role and in developing a global film business and trade hub in India and how Film Bazaar has grown over the last 5 years with 45 countries and 470 delegates participating in it this year. She also referred to NFDC’s successful participation in Cannes on its own strength and making a big splash there this year. She toured the Bazaar with NFDC's MD Neena Lath Gupta and had a look at its facilities.
The 5th Film Bazaar is designed in the same mould as the leading film markets of the world like EFM (European Film Market, Berlin) and Marche Du Film (Cannes Film Market). It has with a market section with stalls of film related companies, screening rooms, and critical sideline activities like a Co-production Market, Screenwriters’ Lab, Work-in-Progress Lab, and Knowledge Series seminars that focus on international co-productions, development, and marketing of films.
Screen International, the leading film trade magazine, is also bringing out market dailies focusing on the activities of the bazaar and the over-all business of cinema. In certain respects Goa’s Film Bazaar does better that EFM and Marche Du Film. It undoubtedly takes better care of its delegates for a fee that is negligent. The delegate’s bag of Film Bazaar is far better in terms of quality and design and eco-friendlyness than what Cannes and Berlin and the other global film festival give away to their participants. The screening facilities at Marriot are also impressive. In fact, the Cannes’s screening rooms look dingy in comparison with them. The Knowledge series seminar also took off today with presentations on co-production in Canada and Italy and a session on ‘Making the Right Pitch’ by Binger Labs and A.S.A.P. Films.
RKS
