New Delhi (NVI): The 70th Berlin International Film Festival, to be held from February 20 to March 1 in Berlin, Germany, will see an Indian Pavilion this time, which will provide a platform to popularise Indian cinema in the overseas market and facilitate new business opportunities.
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar will inaugurate the Indian Pavilion at Berlinale 2020. The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, is also participating at the film festival, in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
This year in Berlin, three Indian feature films, as well as one short documentary film, have been selected, namely Pushpendra Singh’s Laipla Aur Satt Geet, Prateek Vats’ Eeb Allay Ooo!, Akhsay Indikar’s “Sthalpuran” and Ekta Mittal’s short documentary “Gumnaam Din”.
An official statement by the I&B Ministry today said: “India seeks to promote its films across linguistic, cultural and regional diversity and establish multiple international collaborations in the space of distribution, production, filming in India, and script development technology through its participation at Berlinale 2020.”
The Indian delegation, through various interactions, seeks to promote the ease of shooting films in India through Film Facilitation Office, that facilitates Single Window Clearance for filmmakers and provides the platform for ‘Cinematic Tourism’ in India. The delegation will exhibit India as a post-production hub and promote collaborations for films with international production houses, the statement added.
The government delegation to Berlinale will facilitate international participation for the 51st edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2020, Goa. IFFI aims at providing a common platform to the cinemas across the world to project the excellence of the art of film making.
The delegation has meetings scheduled with officials from various countries across the globe. The delegation will meet with officials from Locarno Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Venice International Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, Raindance Film Festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Annecy International Animation Festival, among others.
India enjoys comparative advantage in several aspects of the filmmaking process, the ministry statement read. It has a strong domestic film industry across the country and is home to world-class technicians to shoot any type of film, it added.
India’s vibrant media and entertainment (M&E) industry provide attractive growth opportunities for global corporations. With over 1,800 feature films produced in the country, more than 900 television channels, 500 million internet users, 500 million smartphone users, the ministry said.
