International interest in collaborating with India is at an all-time high as the 2024 Film Bazaar kicks off on Nov 20, marking the 18th edition of India’s biggest market which runs parallel to the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in the tourist destination of Goa.
“There has been an increased interest because of Indian stories finding audiences worldwide,” says NFDC managing director Prithul Kumar, pointing to the success of Sister Midnight, Santosh and All We Imagine As Light, which all premiered at Cannes earlier this year.
“We are making sure that the right people from all across the world are being pinpointed as having an interest in collaborating with South Asian cinema,” he continues.
Those international guests will find Film Bazaar’s biggest-ever offerings, with a record 350+ projects presented across different sections of the market.
Organised by India’s National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), the five-day market hosts a variety of events including a co-production market, a series of panels and development labs at the Goa Marriott Resort & Spa.
The 2024 co-production market will showcase 20 feature projects plus one invited project via Film Bazaar’s new partnership with Asia TV Forum & Market - ATF. Highlights include Saraswathi Vani Balgam’s Destiny’s Dance from Santosh and Sister Midnight producer Alan McAlex; and Krish Jagarlamudi’s The Legend Of Malik Ambar, from Baahubali producer Shobu Yarlagadda.
The projects span seven countries including the UK, Germany, Hong Kong and Australia. These 20 were selected from more than 250 applications; and those who haven’t made the final cut are still invited to attend Film Bazaar and participate in the ‘Open Buyer-Seller Meet’ – a formal networking event.
Overall, this year’s event hopes to build upon the recent boost to India’s filming incentive (up to 40% with a $3.6m cap), and its 17 co-production treaties.
To complement those offerings, the NFDC is launching a new online portal for international productions. The site will offer foreign filmmakers access to everything they need to shoot in India, from visas and incentive applications to local shooting clearances and facility directories.
“We’re trying to integrate all these states and the local bodies into it,” explains Kumar. “So that it becomes a comprehensive one-stop shop for anybody to approach and ensure ease of filming in India.”
Further international reach
Another crucial change this year is welcoming former Cannes Marche du Film director Jerome Paillard into the fold as an advisor to Film Bazaar. “The curation of this year’s Bazaar has really been taken care of because of his presence,” says Kumar.
Paillard is no stranger to the Indian film industry, having served on the IFFI jury in 2023 and advising for the inaugural Cinevesture International Film Festival earlier this year. “He’s helped connect us to the right kind of international people, be it mentors, jurors or panellists,” Kumar adds.
The international offerings at Film Bazaar also include Australia as the country of focus (also at IFFI) with a Knowledge Series session about co-producing with Australia. Spanish co-production will also get a spotlight in the Knowledge Series as well. The BFI’s Agnieszka Moody will present a talk to the Producers’ Workshop about working with the UK.
In another sign of growth, Film Bazaar is also expanding outside of the Marriott for the first time. Pavilions for countries, states and even tech giants Google, Sony and Netflix will be lined up along the waterfront. Kumar explains: “We wanted to expand quite a bit this year and really utilise the beautiful area outside the hotel.”
For the first time, the market is also adding web series projects to its line-up. Kumar notes an “increasing market” for the format and explains that as well as presenting eight titles in the co-production strand. Web series projects will also participate in the Screenwriters’ lab.
Meanwhile, five of the six projects in the Work-in-Progress lab come from debut directors. “We’re finding that a lot of young filmmakers are coming up with works that are actually really good,” Kumar notes of the increasing trend.
Kumar hopes Film Bazaar and the NFDC can be part of the ecosystem of a film’s entire journey – for instance Raavsaaheb found partners when pitching at Film Bazaar in 2021 and now heads to the main competition at IFFI with its world premiere.
He says, “For us, the important thing is to start from the script, but not end at the finishing of the film. But go up to the level of distribution, and to be able to give the filmmaker the access to distribution across the world. We want to be there every step.”
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