Pickle May Cannes Issue 2019

india’s only film biz magazine for the world May 2019

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INDIA AT CANNES FILM MARKET

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Meet us at India Pavilion 110, Village International Riviera, Palais Des Festivals

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Government of India

india’s only film biz magazine for the world M a y 2019

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INDIA AT CANNES FILM MARKET

Toronto International Film Festival September 5 – 15, 2019

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Co-Production Breakfasts

Make yourself visible in PiCkle june 2019 anneCy & Mifa issue.

Pickle reaches out to audio visual companies in over 50 countries; Targets global buyers and distributors; Film Festivals and markets; Animation production companies; Global companies looking at offshoring from India; Co-production seekers and location service providers. Pickle business guide tracks the entertainment business in India.

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INDIA AND BEYOND

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Cannes film market: sixty shining years

I

t’s six decades of celebrating cinema like no other. Created at the 1959 Cannes International Film Festival, the Marché du Film has successfully completed 60 years. It is now the indispensable venue for negotiations about most productions distributed in theatres, on television, at festivals or on internet platforms.

At that time, it started out in an informal, low-key way. There were a few dozen participants and one projection room made of wood and canvas on the roof of the old Palais, on the Croisette which held about twenty people. But it created an immediate buzz. Many producers, distributers and exporters met through the sale and acquisition of rights and productions.

Cinemas on the Rue d’Antibes were hired for the occasion. By the late 1950s, the newspapers reported: “The Festival de Cannes begins this week. As much business will be done there as in six months of normal professional life in Paris.”

“The Festival de Cannes begins this week. As much business will be done there as in six months of normal professional life in Paris” On the eve of this 60th anniversary, the Marché du Film has confirmed its leading position, having already announced figures which are strongly up on last year

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Bolstered by its success, the “Marché International du Film” was officially integrated into the Festival de Cannes on May 10, 1961. This worried those who were keen to preserve the glamour of the red carpet: “Cannes is committing suicide. It is doomed in its current format. In another two or three years, it will be no more than a film market,” they said. However this economical approach opened new development horizons for the Festival. Very soon it was apparent there were strong connections with the industry, that their fates and their future exploits were closely linked. They continue to be so today: the Marché du Film often shows itself to be the adventurous side of the Festival.

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Fox Star StudioS at canneS

fox star studios india

films in 2019 F

ox Star Studios was launched in India in 2008 with a vision to make quality cinema. It is part of the Star TV group, Asia’s leading media and entertainment company. Since inception, we have worked with India’s biggest talent to produce critically acclaimed films that are appreciated across the world. In 2018, our films, the action entertainer ‘Baaghi 2’; and the biopic ‘Sanju’, have broken records world over. This year, we have an exciting line up of films that we will be presenting like Kalank, Student Of The Year 2, India’s Most Wanted, Loot case, Mission Mangal, Chhichhore, Houseful 4 and Brahmastra, among others.

STUDENT OF THE YEAR 2 10 May 2019 Genre: Musical Language: Hindi with English Subtitles Director: Punit Malhotra | Cast: Tiger Shroff The second installment of the hit franchise ‘SOTY’, directed by Punit Malhotra.

ZOYA FACTOR 14 June 2019 Genre: Comedy Language: Hindi with English Subtitles Director: Abhishek Sharma Cast: Sonam Kapoor, Dulquer Salmaan Based on Anuja Chauhan’s bestseller–‘The Zoya Factor’.

INDIA’S MOST WANTED 24 May 2019 Genre: Thriller Language: Hindi with English subtitles Director: Rajkumar Gupta | Cast: Arjun Kapoor

MISSION MANGAL 15 August 2019 Genre: Adventure Language: Hindi with English Subtitles Cast: Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan India’s first space film on based on ‘Mangalyaan’, the space probe orbiting Mars since 24 September 2014.

CHHICHHORE 30 August 2019 Genre: Drama Language: Hindi with English Subtitles Director: Nitesh Tiwari | Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput A coming of age drama set against the backdrop of an engineering college.

HOUSEFULL 4 25 October 2019 Genre: Drama Language: Hindi with English Subtitles Director: Sajid Khan Cast: Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Bobby Deol The 4th installment in the hit franchise series ‘Housefull’

thursday, may 16, 2019

content buyS From india

ONE LITTLE FINGER When an American neurologist, Raina, uproots her life to research music therapy in India, she finds herself teaching children and adults with disabilities by bringing them together through music and inspiring them to challenge themselves through their abilities.

Cannes market sCreenings from india Wednesday, may 15, 2019 LOHARDAGA A poor boy who wanted to go to the army and becomes a Naxalite (Terrorist) caught in between an employment broker/agent and a police officer’s corrupt affair.

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Director: Shahdeo Lal Vijay | Producer: Akriti Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. 2019 | Hindi | 120 min | Colour International Sales: info@akritientertainment.com

2018 | Hindi | 120 min | Colour International Sales: info@akritientertainment.com

THE LAST COLOR Nine-year-old flower seller and tightrope walker Chhoti befriends Noor, a 70 year old widow living a colorless life of abstinence. Chhoti promises hope to Noor as this poignant story of love, friendship, commitment and victory of the human spirit unfolds on the banks of River Ganges.

gray 5 10:00 THE PRISON Bandishala is a film that tries to depict the world of jail premises, its corrupt administrators and how it all gets disturbed by an honest woman prison officer.

Director(s): Vikas Khanna | Producer(s): Jitendra Mishra, Poonam Kaul, Bindu Khanna | Writer(s): Vikas Khanna | Cast(s): Neena Gupta, Aqsa Siddique

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Director: Milind Lele | Producer: Swati Sanjay Patil (Shantaai Motion Pictures) | Writer: Sanjay Krishnaji Patil | Cast(s) Mukta Barve, Vikram Gaikwad, Sharad Ponkshe, Umesh Jagtap, Hemangi Kavi, Pravin Tarde

2019 | Hindi | 90 min | Colour International Sales: smilefilms.india@gmail.com

thursday, may 16, 2019

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MUDITA A Saxophonist looking for rhythm in his life.

Director: Swaroop Kanchi | Producer: Prakash Chhabria | Cast(s) Swaroop Kanchi, Padmavathi Rao

Director: Omkar Shetty | Producer: Girish Narayan Pawar (Gnp Films) | Writer(s): Swami Baal , Omkar Shetty | Cast(s): Shashank Ketkar, Neha Joshi, Swastika Mukherjee, Atharva Padhhye

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2018 | Marathi | 116 min | Colour International Sales: ashma1895@gmail.com

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2018 | Marathi | 140 min | Colour International Sales: ashma1895@gmail.com

friday, may 17, 2019

AARON Babu, a fifteen-year-old boy from a small village in Konkan(Maharashtra), has not met his mother for many years due to her work in Paris. The boy and his uncle, who is entrusted with the responsibility of taking him to his mother, start their journey to Paris.

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2019 | English | 105 min | Colour International Sales: rsarmahmedia@gmail.com

PHULMANIA The suffering of an innocent young girl accused of witchcraft, who agrees to let her body be used to fulfill the wish of a barren woman.

Director: Shahdeo Lal Vijay | Producer(s): Neha Shandilya (Rose Quartz Enetrtainment), Lal Vijay Shahdeo (Akriti Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.) | Writer(s): Lal Vijay Shahdeo, Birendra Paswan | Cast(s): Sarvadaman Shahdeo, Sanjay Mishra, Vijay Raaz, Akhilendra Mishra, Ravi Jhankal, Dadhi Pandey, Neetu Pandey, Chanda Kumari, Priya Ambust

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Director: Sarmah Rupam | Producer: Rj Global Media | Writer: Rupam Sarmah | Cast(S): Tamela D’amico, Sayomdeb Mukherjee, Abhinaya M.g., Siedah Garrett, Malaya Goswami, Jaya Seal Ghosh, Jeeja Ghosh Nag, Jonathan Stoddard, Pabitra Rabha, Kushal Chakrabarty

2019 | English | 140 min | Colour

International Sales: tapasfilms@gmail.com

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tuesday, may 21, 2019

friday, may 17, 2019

TWOSOME One Strange House, Two Strangers and a Stranger Night..

What would you do when you just have One Night to Change everything about you?

Director: Raathore Udayyan | Producer: Rowdy Rathore Productions 2019 | English | 87 min | Colour International Sales: udayyanraathore@gmail.com

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saturday, may 18, 2019

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DITHEE Dithee unfolds a tale of death and life, of grief and ecstasy - where the seeming opposites just collapse and dissolve into the oneness of being.

Director: Sumitra Bhave | Producer: Dr. Mohan Agashe (Sumitra Bhave Films) | Writer(s): Sumitra Bhave, D.b. Mokashi Cast(s): Kishor Kadam , Dilip Prabhavlakar, Uttara Baokar, Shashank Shende, Girish Kulkarni, Amruta Subhash, Onkar Gowardhan, Kailash Waghmare, Anjali Patil

olymPia 7 15:30

Director: Aazaad Dube | Producer(s): Kamini Dube (Bombay Talkies Gharana), Girish Ghanshyam Dube (The Bombay Talkies Studios), Girish Ghanshyam Dube (Dube Industries) | Writer: Aazaad Dube Cast: Aazaad Dube

2018 | Marathi | 89 min | Colour

International Sales: ashma1895@gmail.com

2018 | Hindi | 140 min | Colour International Sales: info@bombaytalkies.co

sunday, may 19, 2019

GLORIOUS DEAD A Magnum Opus, Shot entirely by iPhone with minimal external lights Director: Sarkar Sudeep Ranjan | Producer(s): Rita Jhawar (Nez Moving Pixels), Vito Shakaj | Writer(s): Sudeep Ranjan Sarkar | Cast(s): Mandeep Ghai, Ravi Sharma, Sanjit Jha, Gisela Berk, Rashmi Sharma, Sudeep Ranjan Sarkar, Rita Jhawar

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2019 | 87 min | Colour International Sales: jhawarrita@gmail.com

monday, may 20, 2019

Director: Bhaskar Hazarika | Producer(s): Poonam Deol, Shyam Bora | Writer: Bhaskar Hazarika | Cast(s): Lima Das, Arghadeep Barua

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AARON

lerins 1 18:00 International Sales: ashma1895@gmail.com

THE PRISON

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RAVENING How far would you go to feed your desire?

Married Niri shares a forbidden passion with Sumon, who introduces her to a world of fresh, wild delicacies. But as their unconsummated desire mounts, the two are pushed inexorably towards transgression and taboo

lerins 1 12:00

SON OF INDIA Rashtraputra is the first film in history of Indian cinema which gives insight about life and times of the greatest revolutionary Chandrashekhar Azad.

The film is written, directed & acted by Bhonsala Military School alumni Aazaad and produced by legendary film company The Bombay Talkies Studios (commonly known as Bombay Talkies which was founded by Pillar of Indian Cinema Shri Rajnarayan Dube, 1934) with Kamini Dube who is among the most eminent female personalities of India.

Azad’s thoughts were like the flames of fire and acts were deadly blasts. The forgotten hero return back from the darkness, created by selfish politics to the silver screen as the daring and dynamic protagonist of all time created by military school student Aazaad. Azad was the commander – in – chief of Hindustan Socialist Republican Army (HSRA) and an unmatched mentor, friend – philosopher – guide of over 2000 revolutionaries of HSRA like Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev etc. Azad was the supreme force of the bloodstained revolutionary freedom movement of India.

2018 | Assamese | 108 min | Colour International Sales: info@medialuna.biz

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DITHEE

riViera 1 16:00 International Sales: ashma1895@gmail.com

friday, may 17, 2019 ONE LITTLE FINGER

gray 3 16:00 International Sales: rsarmahmedia@gmail.com; RJ GLOBAL MEDIA

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tHougHt leader

Cannes or netflix?

is netflix an aCCePtable remediation for Cannes’ deCades-long little regard for indian Cinema?

Netflix is both a haven and a trap for Indian filmmakers who have always been tempted by Cannes and international exposure.

Tempted, and frustrated.

India?

Pierre assouline

The Uplifting Cinema Project

The exclusion of Roma reveals a Cannes’ rising awareness that Netflix is a threat to the very sustainability of its conservative model

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Indian filmmakers have been totally ignored the past 25 years by Cannes’ Official Competition. Thus, their dilemma of ‘should I go with Netflix and loose out the possible Cannes boost’, is minor compared to filmmakers from countries with cultures better understood by Thierry Frémaux, the Festival General Delegate. His despising sarcastic reply to a Kolkata journalist asking why year after year India was missing from the Competition is hard to forget: “India?

What am I supposed to answer? Perhaps that it is a great Cinema country?”.

Evoking the Un Certain Regard section, Frémaux stated: “The eye on India would focus on ‘New Gen’ films rather than offerings from Bollywood or Bengali cinema”. His comment lumping together Bollywood and Bengali films reveals that he is hardly aware of Indian Cinema,what to speak of Indian Culture. Setting ‘New Gen’ against Bengali Cinema shows he is in a time warp, still stuck in the Ray era. Aren’t Rituparno Ghosh, Kaushik Ganguly, or Qaushiq Mukherjee (Q) Bengali? How to categorize their films

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A producer in France and India with Selections and Awards including Competition in Venice, Competition and Jury Award in Locarno, Competition in Toronto, Official Selection in Cannes, National Award in India, Pierre Assouline currently works at establishing “The Uplifting Cinema Project”, a production slate of universal and uplifting films conveying India’s beauty to the world.

Pierre Assouline in Cannes: +33613215900 pierre@theupliftingcinemaproject.com

if not ‘New Gen’? Qaushiq Mukherjee’s (Q) cinema is even ‘New Gen’ within the ‘New Gen’.

Long-gone are the days of the charismatic Gilles Jacob who selected Shaji Karun’s Swaham in Competition and Vanaprastham in Official Selection.

Cannes’ Directors Club only Although the politically correct 2019 press conference boasts “a balanced selection with the right assortment of stalwarts and newcomers”, the truth is that young LIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK

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Netflix may not bestow Indian filmmakers’ work the glamour and prestige that Cannes has specialized in over the years (when not turned into a pitiless crushing machine), but they and other major OTTs make films available to millions

a great contemporary director. He shows us a film, we like the film, we take the film.”

Cannes: “Netflix or not Netflix, Okja is a Cinema film, a Cinema product.

Bong Joon-ho is a great contemporary director. He shows us a film, we like the film, we take the film.” directors are mostly considered only after securing all possible seats for “Cannes’ Directors Club members”, or, as Frémaux himself refers to them, the “Subscription Holders”: Ken Loach (returning for the 14th time!), the Dardenne brothers, Jim Jarmush, Marco Bellocchio, Arnaud Desplechin, Pedro Almodóvar, et al.

The danger is a declining Cannes Film Festival every year more detached from contemporary realities.

So, Netflix?

In 2017, Thierry Frémaux was proudly speaking about his selection of Okja- fully produced by Netflix. At that time, he never expressed the opinion that a film is not a film if not shown on the big screen. Quite the opposite. He stated: “Netflix or not Netflix, Okja is a Cinema film, a Cinema product. Bong Joon-ho is

Netflix turned down an Out of Competition screening, thus revealing a higher concern for the enforcement of the Netflix model than for any of the titles it has funded 22

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In 2018, Frémaux sang a different tune.

He excluded the Netflix film to which it is the hardest to deny the quality and title of Cinema: Roma, by Alfonso Cuaron.

Why the one-eighty? The pressure of French film industry heavyweights, the very ones he owes his seat to? Not only.

That exclusion reveals a Cannes’ rising awareness that Netflix is a threat to the very sustainability of its conservative model.

Far from being merely technical,the disagreement is not about the sacrosanct chronology of media in France which forbids an OTT platform to stream a film before 17 months following a theatrical release(hence Netflix’s refusal to allow any French theatrical exhibition for its productions). The rivalry is really all about both parties’ stubbornness to stand by their respective vision of what Cinema is.

Held hostage filmmakers Filmmakers find themselves hostages of this power struggle. The situation of “The other Side of the Wind”,an unfinished film

by Orson Welles is a case in point. After decades of knocking at studios’ doors, Welles’ daughter, Beatrice Welles-Smith, could still not complete the film. Finally, Netflix came to the rescue for full financing.

But Netflix failed to back her dream of seeing her father being honored at Cannes for the final curtain of his cinematic career. Netflix, and not Cannes which has indeed proposed a special screening Out of Competition in Official Selection. Netflix turned down the offer, thus revealing a higher concern for the enforcement of the Netflix model rather than for any one of the titles it has funded.

So, Cannes?

Filmmakers never asked for a confrontation between the world’s largest Film Festival and the OTT giant. Their interest is not to have to choose. They want and may deserve both.

Even if series like Sacred Games (2 nonIndian viewers out of 3) surpass by far the D2C international capacity of feature films (an evaluation based on acquisitions and not yet on Originals), Indian feature filmmakers should grab the opportunity of content-thirsty Netflix and other competitive global or domestic OTT platforms. While at it, they can incidentally relish the creative freedom of swapping Kafkaesque CBFC whims for non-restrictive OTTs Best Practices code.

Netflix may not bestow Indian filmmakers’ work the glamour and prestige that Cannes has specialized in over the years (when not turned into a pitiless crushing machine), but they and other major OTTs make films available to millions.

For the first time in history, Indian Cinema is being watched by a majority of non-diaspora global audience.

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The situation of “The other Side of the Wind”, an unfinished film by Orson Welles is a case in point.

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To indulge in a ‘The Fox and the Grapes’ attitude of “What cannot be had, you speak of badly” plays into the “us and they” mentality that is stifling the Cannes Festival at present. Cannes still has unique benefits. To belittle it as a relic of a past that is out of sync with the way cinema is watched today cannot be honest. Why then wouldn’t Indian filmmakers consider Netflix as a possible stepping-stone for a future Cannes-eligible feature film?

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competing at canneS

a ComPelling sPread The Cannes Competition promises a tantalising contest between the old and the new this year. The jury headed by Alejandro G. Inarritu has its job cut out

By Saibal Chatterjee

T

he line-up that the 72nd Cannes Film Festival has assembled for its flagship Competition section pits a host of veterans against a slew of younger filmmakers who have broken into the league for the first time. For the discerning, not the least for the jury presided over by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, the tantalising contest could throw up quite a few surprises.

The selection, which is definitely more exciting than last year’s, sees the return of many Cannes favourites who have delivered the goods over the years. The first-time contenders, Celine Sciamma, Justine Triet and Mati Diop (the first Black woman in the Competition) and Jessica Hausner, are expected to give the jurors a slew of options when they weigh the big guns against the challengers.

Austrian director and screenwriter Hausneris a Cannes regular, but her films (Lovely Rita, Hotel and Amour Fou) did not make it beyond Un certain regard. With the English-language Little Joe, starring Emily Beecham and Ben Whishaw, she has been elevated to the competition. So has Sciamma, whose 2007 debut film, Water Lilies, premiered in Un certain regard before 2014’s acclaimed Girlhood marked the opening of Directors’s Fortnight. Her new film, Portrait of a Girl on Fire, has broken into the main competition. A French director of Senegalese descent, Diop is also an actress who has done the festival rounds and a maker of shorts of considerable repute. She has cracked the competition with her very first film as director, Atlantique, making her only the second woman with a debut film in this section after Julia Leigh (Sleeping Beauty) eight years ago.

French director Justine Triet’s previous Cannes outings were outside the official selection. Her debut film, Age of Panic,

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was presented in the ACID programme of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. Her second film, In Bed Victoria, played in Un certain regard. Her new film, Sibyl, has catapulted her to the competition.

French-Malian director Ladj Ly is the second Black filmmaker competing this year for the Palme d’Or. His feature debut, Les Miserables, an extension of a short film that was nominated for a Cesar last year, is inspired by the riots of 2005. The film explores contemporary Montfermeil, where Victor Hugo set his classic story in 1862.

It can only help the younger contenders that the likes of Pawel Pawlikowski, Yorgos Lanthimos, Robin Campillo and Alice Rohrwacher, directors who know what it takes to snag awards in the world’s premier film festival, are on Inarritu’s jury.

If only four female directors are vying for the Palme d’Or, one more than last year, the nine-member jury has a quartet of women – besides Rohrwacher, American director Kelly Reichardt, Hollywood actress Elle Fanning, and Burkina Faso actress-director MaimounaN’Diaye.

Surprisingly, the Competition has no film from either Japan – Hirokazu Koreeda’s Shoplifters won the Palme d’Or – or Scandinavia (Swedish director Ruben Ostlund’s The Square won the festival’s top prize in 2017). Neither Kore-eda’s first English-language film, The Truth, not Swedish director Roy Andersson’s About Endlessness, a follow-up to the remarkable A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence, are still in postproduction.

Several big names of world cinema – Christophe Honore, Albert Serra, Bruno Dumont and Kantemir Balagov – have been shunted to Un certain regard, making it a sidebar with immense weight.

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The selection, which is definitely more exciting than last year’s, sees the return of many Cannes favourites who have delivered the goods over the years

Dumont’s Joan of Arc and Balagov’s Beanpole will play alongside six films directed by women – Zabou Breitman and Elea Gobbe-Mevellec’s The Swallows of Kabul, Monia Chokri’s A Brother’s Love, Danielle Lessovitz’s Port Authority, Mounia Meddour’s Papicha, Annie Silverstein’s Bull and Maryam Touzani’s Adam.

Returning to the competition, British filmmaker Ken Loach and the Belgian Dardenne brothers are in with a chance of making history by becoming the first to win the Palme d’Or thrice.The octogenarian Loach teams up again with his two regular collaborators, writer Paul Laverty and producer Rebecca O’Brien on Sorry We Missed You, a film about a young couple struggling to achieve financial stability and keep their family from keeling over in a gig economy.

The last time Loach was in Competition (I, Daniel Blake, 2016), he took home the festival’s top prize.

Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne are back on the Croisette with Young Ahmed, another film in their social-realist mode.

The titular character is a boy who is radicalised to the point of wanting to kill his teacher. The brothers’ previous outing in Cannes – The Unknown Girl, 2016 – was somewhat of a dampener. They are due for a strong comeback.

Another veteran, 75-year-old Terrence Malick, who bagged the Palme d’Or the last time he was in Cannes (for The Tree of Life, 2011, which was only his fifth feature),could well catch up with the double winners with A Hidden Life, a drama about an Austrian conscientious objector who was put to death during WWII. The film stars August Diehl in the principal role, besides Belgian heartthrob Matthias Schoenaerts.

Two other past Palme d’Or winners, Quentin Tarantino (for Pulp Fiction in 1994) and French-Tunisian director Abdellatif Kechiche (for Blue is the Warmest Colour in 2013), are competing again with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Mektoub, My Love: Intermezzo respectively.

Snapping at their heels would be Jim Jarmusch, whose zombie satire The Dead Don’t Die, the 2019 festival’s opening film, holds huge promise. And who can discount Pedro Almodovar, competing this year with the self-reflexive Pain and Glory? Neither of the two filmmakers, who have been feted consistently at the festival, have ever won the top prize.

It’s about time.

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india @ canneS

Other familiar names that will vie for the Palme d’Or are Marco Bellocchio (The Traitor), Arnaud Desplechin (Oh Mercy!), Xavier Dolan (Matthias and Maxime) and Kleber Mendonca Filho (Bacurau, co-directed by Juliano Dornelles). French director Desplechin has not been in the Cannes competition since 2013’s Jimmy P. His new film stars Lea Seydoux in story that centres on a murder in northern France.

Palestinian auteur Elia Suleiman makes a comeback to the Competition after a decade-long hiatus with It Must Be Heaven, a film in which he plays himself, a man uprooted from his moorings and traversing the world. Suleiman, who comes from a state that isn’t officially recognised by France, was last in Cannes with The Time That Remains, which blended the anguish of occupation and oppression with broad strokes of sardonic humour. It Must Be Heaven promises to take that fine balance a few steps further.

glimPses of

the future India is absent from the Cannes official selection but six promising new filmmakers and an up-and-coming cinematographer from the subcontinent have made their way into the world’s glitziest cinema fest - By Saibal Chatterjee

One of the younger directors whose entry will be watched with keen interest by the jury as well as the critics attending the festival is Corneliu Porumboiu.

The 43-year-old Romanian director won the Camera d’Or for the 2006 film, 12:08 East of Bucharest and followed it up with the Jury Prize in Un certain regard for Police, Adjective in 2009. His latest film, Gomera (The Whistlers), is in the festival’s main Competition. It is Porumboiu’s first time in this league.

Cannes first-timer Ira Sachs joins Jarmusch and Malick to complete the American presence in the competition. His film, Frankie, features Isabele Huppert in a starring role, but that certainly isn’t the only reason why it has made the cut.

The New York filmmaker has been in the business for two decades and has built a formidable reputation that could benefit immensely from wider exposure on the Croisette.

The Cannes competition has two films from Asia. One of them is Korean genre director Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite. His 2017 film, Okja, a Netflix production, had premiered in Cannes in 2017 and sparked a row with French exhibitors that ensured the shutting out of the streaming giant from the festival. The other Asian film in contention is Chinese director Diao Yinan’s The Wild Goose Lake, a noir thriller. This is Yinan’s first appearance in the Cannes competition. Another Chinese detective yarn, Zu Feng’s Summer of Changsha, will screen in Un certain regard.

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Dominic Sangma’s Rapture is one of the ten projects as part of La Fabrique des Cinema du Monde

I

ndia is missing from the official selection of the 72nd Cannes Film Festival. In Directors’ Fortnight and Critics’ Week, too, it has drawn a blank. So, will the festival be a washout from the subcontinental perspective?

No, thanks to three promising young professionals – two directors and one cinematographer, all alumni of the Kolkata-based Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI).

Meghalaya’s Dominic Sangma, Darjeeling lad Saurav Rai (who has been inthe Cannes official selection once before) and cinematographer Modhura Palit will participate in three different segments held in partnership with the Cannes Film Festival during its 12-day run from May 14 to 25. The triodoes not represent the Indian cinema mainstream. They will in-

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pickle entertainment biz guide

Saurav Rai will be pitching his debut work-in-progress film Nimtoh

stead provide the world a few glimpses of the future contours of independent films from the subcontinent.

In fact, among the 15 projects that Cinefondation has selected for L’Atelier – a platform that helps filmmakers find financing partners – are one each from Pakistan, Nepal and Myanmar. Theunprecedented 20 per cent representation for South Asia promises to make the 2019 edition of the world’s premier film festival a truly fruitful outing for filmmakers from the region.

Sangma, 32, who wrapped up his debut film, the Garo-language Ma’Ama (Moan), last year and is looking for international festival openings, will be attending the Cannes Film Festival to explores co-production deals for his sophomore effort, LIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK

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Three promising young professionals – two directors and one cinematographer, all alumni of the Kolkata-based Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) have made their way to Cannes

Cinematographer Modhura Palit will receive the Angenieux Special Encouragement Award

Rapture. The under-production film is one of ten projects that are part of La Fabrique des Cinema du Monde, a programme developed by Institut Francais.

It invites ten directors working on their first or second features to the Cannes Film Festival along with their producers. Sangma, a former National Film Development Corporation employee who now teaches direction and scriptwriting at the Film and Television Institute, Itanagar, will be participating in the networking programme with Chinese co-producer Jianshang Xu, who was also involved in the making of Ma’Ama. Rapture is the third Indian film in the La Fabrique program since it was launched in 2009. Gitanjali Rao’s Girgit (2011) and Tushar Prakash’s Liberation (2015) were the first two.

Sangma’s film alludes to the rising tide of intolerance and incidents of mob lynching that India has witnessed of late. It is set in a village that is gripped by the fear of a child-kidnapper. The church warns people of “apocalyptic

Saibal Chatterjee is an independent New Delhibased film critic and writer who has worked on the staff of several leading publications, served on the editorial board of Encyclopaedia Britannica’s volume on Hindi cinema and authored a biography of poet-filmmaker Gulzar.

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darkness” for 80 days. For a 10-year-old boy, the atmosphere turns ominous like never before.

“In the film I want to explore the idea of mass reaction when people are provoked through fear, anger and confusion,” Sangma writes in his statement of intent.

The up and coming filmmaker will receive guidance from the seasoned Mira Nair, the first Indian to win the Camera d’Or in Cannes (for Salaam Bombay, 1988).She is the patron of La Fabrique 2019. Auteurs like Cristian Mungiu, Brillante Mendoza and Jia Zhangke have been patrons of the program in previous years. This year’s selection includes the Bangladeshi film, Sand City, directed by Mahde Hasan and produced by Rubaiyat Hossain’s Khona Talkies, a Dhaka-based outfit.

Another gifted SRFTI alumnus Saurav Rai, 33, will be pitching his debut workin-progress, Nimtoh (Invitation), in the ‘HAF (Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum) Goes to Cannes’ programme in the festival’s Marche du Film (Film Market). It is among five projects selected

by HAF Work-in-Progress Lab in March – to participate in a pitching session in Cannes. Co-producer Sanjay Gulati will be in attendance. The HAF winners will make their presentations in a two-hour session on May 18.

Rai spent his childhood between Darjeeling and Kathmandu. Gudh was an impressionistic, evocative account of the time he spent with his parents in a village in Darjeeling district and his grandparents in Kathmandu. Nimtoh promises to be another story inspired from his own personal experiences.

In the very first year of ‘HAF Goes to Cannes’ – 2017 – Assamese filmmaker Rima Das’ Village Rockstars was one of four selected projects. The film went on to achieve great traction on the international film festival circuit, as did the three other films that were pitched in Cannes that year, including May Ashfair’s exquisitely realised Vietnamese film The Third Wife.

The synopsis of Nimtoh reads: “Little Tashi and his grandma are tenants guarding a cardamom orchard for a family. An approaching wedding at their patron’s house excites Tashi. Will he be invited?”

Elsewhere in the festival, Kolkata cinematographer Modhura Palit, 28, has been invited to what promises to be an event worth celebrating – the 7th edition of the Angenieux ExcelLens in Cinematography ceremony. She will receive the Angenieux Special Encouragement, which is given to a young professional who is beginning to make her mark. Palit, like Sangma and Rai, is an SRFTI alumnus.

The ceremony is scheduled for the evening of May 24. The first winner of the Special Encouragement, introduced in 2018, was the young Chinese DOP Cecile

This is Rai’s second trip to the festival – he was here in 2016 with Gudh (Nest), a 28-minute short film that played in the Cinefondation Competition for works by film school students. He was India’s sole representative in the Cannes official selection that year.

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Zhang. She was supported by Angenieux throughout the year. The recognition will entitle Palit to the use of the best Angenieux lenses on her next project.

Named after the founder of the 80-yearold French company that makes highend zoom lenses and is an official partner of the Cannes Film Festival, the tribute will be bestowed this year on the fivetime Oscar-nominated French director of photography Bruno Delbonnel.

Delbonnel’s credits include films directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amelie), Tim Burton (Dark Shadows, Big Eyes), the Coen Brothers (Inside Llewyn Davis, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs), Joe Wright (Darkest Hour), David Yates (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) and Alexander Sokurov (Faust, Francofonia).

The six other veterans who have earned tributes as part of Angenieux ceremony in Cannes since 2013 are Philippe Rousselot, Vilmos Zsigmond, Roger A. Deakins, Peter Suschitzky, Christopher Doyle and Edward Lachman.

The subcontinental presence on Cannes’ various mentoring and networking platforms is strengthened by The Women, a film being directed by The Maw Naing, 48-year-old poet, artist and filmmaker from Myanmar; The Bone Trumpet, a work being developed by Nepalese filmmaker and visual anthropologist Fidel Devkota; and Wakhri, a film by Pakistani engineer-turned-filmmaker Iram Parveen Bilal. All three films are part of Cinefondation’s Atelier selection.

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ER ISSU E MIT CURTAIN RAIS CII BIG PICT URE SUM t 2013

We hear voices.

Will tHe StarS become StarduSt?

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Internet-led or OTT entertainment is clearly the new “adult” on the block. Having changed the way in which the world views films and TV, the internet has started changing the way India is entertained. By Bobby Bedi or over 70 years Indian entertain- is no pandering to Advertising breaks, so ment has been living in its own the experience is seamless. Secondly, the world—a world of fantasy heroes screen size has changed. Cinema screens and heroines who take entire populations remain, but home viewing ranges from into dreamlands and faraway lands. Their six inches to sixty inches and from headlives have never been the lives of real phones to surround sound. The mobile people, their clothes have never been the phone has become your personal cinema. clothes of real people, their homes have The third major change is that stories are never been real homes and their stories able to travel seamlessly across geograhave always revolved around a single plot. phies and across languages and cultures.

For 70 years, we have largeThe second and third have ly been watching the story impacted India the most. The of the boy meeting the girl; ability to view on the smartgetting the hots for her; surphone has increased access mounting the insurmountfrom hundreds of thousands able obstacles that come in to hundreds of millions. Indithe form of villainous rivals ans from all regions, cultures or fathers; and finally living and economic backgrounds happily ever after. What are glued to their personal held these stories together screen. The mobile revoluwere a series of melodraBobby Bedi, tion in India has put intermatic events, jokes, songs, Producer, Content Flow national quality entertaininteresting locations and ment within the reach of the pure hero worship of their favorite stars. Occasionally, this mould poorest. What started with Netflx as a fad was broken and whenever that happened, for the rich has now become food for the we coined phrases like off-beat, parallel or masses as Indian platforms like Hotstar, art cinema to explain the change. Even in Jio, MX Player, Zee5 and Eros Now have the telling of history we managed to com- risen to the occasion. pletely distort the facts and convince audiences of stories that we wished had hap- But the real icing on the cake is the change in the content itself. Real stories are rulpened, rather than talk of reality. ing the roost. The world of fantasy is fast Not anymore. Internet-led or OTT enter- giving way to the underworld of “Sacred tainment is clearly the new “adult” on the Games” and the harsh reality of “Delhi block. Having changed the way in which Crime”. Stories and writers are in great the world views films and TV, the internet demand and the audience is maturing fast. has started changing the way India is enDoes this mean that the stars will become tertained.

Stardust? Probably not. They will coexist Three major changes have occurred across with the new world. the world of entertainment. Firstly, the duration of what we watch has changed from BOBBY BEDI has produced award winfixed slots of film and TV to fully flexible ning cinema including Bandit Queen, Fire durations that can be just a few minutes and Maqbool and is now producing web long (user generated content) to several series for all the major domestic and interhours long for the binge watchers. There national platforms.

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ickle reaches out to audio visual companies in over 50 countries; Targets global buyers and distributors; Film Festivals and markets; Animation production companies; Global companies looking at offshoring from India; Co-production seekers and location service providers.

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India as a film making destination is growing in prominence with immense untapped opportunities waiting to be explored. Film Facilitation Office at Cannes is a one-stop shop for collecting all the information about India’s film-friendly ecosystem and how to navigate through the maze of permissions, treaties and guidelines of key central government ministries and state governments to create magic on screen

I

t is best of the times for global filmmakers and producers looking to film in India. Film Facilitation Office (FFO) set up by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting under the aegis of National Film Development Corporation has brought in a transformation and a film friendly outlook to capitalise on the shooting locales of India.

The Cannes Film Festival and Market provides an opportunity to interact with FFO officials on filming in India. FFO acts as a single window facilitation and clearance mechanism that eases filming in India as well as endeavouring to create a filmfriendly ecosystem and promote India as a filming destination.

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Register yourself with the FFO website (www.ffo.gov.in) to start your application process

Fill out the application form for seeking permission for film shooting in India

Upload script, synopsis of the script, passport details of the crew, details of shooting locations in India & period of shooting

An application fee of INR equivalent to USD 225 needs to be paid online. (For International Productions) The fee is non-refundable

Submit the form on your own or through an Indian Representative / Line Producer

FFO’s recent launch of the Web Portal, www.ffo.gov.in not only enables online submission of applications for filmmakers, but also enlists India’s co-production treaties and guidelines of key central government Ministries/departments, leading to greater ease of navigation, and thereby easing filming in the country.

The newly launched portal disseminates information on India’s various shooting locations across all States (each location having detailed information relevant to that particular location), lists facilities

The web portal (www.ffo.gov.in) has information regarding the Nodal officers of all Indian States and Union Territories, along with their filming policies and guidelines

available with the Indian film industry for postproduction, animation and VFX, enlists filming guidelines / policies across various States and key Central Government Ministries / Agencies (such as ASI, Railways, DGCA, Department of Forests, etc) among others.

To further help international producers cut through the permissions process required to shoot in India, the website will act as a single point for all filming related information in the country.

“Once a filmmaker applies, there is going to be an automatic transmission of information to all the nodal agencies,” says Vikramjit Roy, Head, Film Facilitation Office (FFO).

FFO has been working towards promoting and facilitating film shootings by foreign filmmakers in India, with its services now extended to Indian filmmakers as well.

The FFO, which became operational in 2016, has since assisted some 86 productions (Feature Films, Reality TV shows and/or Commercial TV Serials) shot in India from across the world. Some of the g international films partially shot in India, include Iqbal and the Indian Jewel, Hotel Mumbai, and The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir.

The web portal has information regarding the Nodal officers of all Indian States

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and Union Territories, along with their filming policies and guidelines.

While the web portal is an endeavour to reach out to the filming fraternity across the globe, the FFO has been proactively creating an enabling ecosystem for filming in India.

Ease of obtaining Film Visa (F-Visa) The F-visa was introduced in April 2017.

Indian Missions/Posts abroad grant a F-Visa to such applicants who are coming to shoot Feature Films, Reality TV shows and commercial TV series in India provided that Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has approved the proposal. It permits a stay of up to one year and facilitates multiple entries into the country.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), which issues the said Visa, has created an ecosystem, through its Nodal Officer, who works in synergy with the Ministry of I&B and the FFO, to ease the issuance of the same.

Most Film Friendly State Award The institution of the “Most Film Friendly State Award” by the Ministry of I&B is another endeavour towards the Film in India initiative. This unique Award, which was included in the 63rd National Film Awards in the year 2015, is the Ministry’s endeavor to promote

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pickle entertainment biz guide

Meet Film Facilitation Office at

India Pavilion 110 International Village Reviera India as a filming destination as well as to encourage the growth of the filming industry. The States of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have been recipients of this Award in the last few years.

Facilitation of the appointment of Nodal Officers across 29 Circles of the Archaeological Survey of India Post several follow ups and one-on-one meetings with ASI, FFO successfully facilitated the appointment of 29 Nodal officers across all ASI circles, so as to ease the permission process at various ASI sites across the country.

Workshops on ‘Ease of Filming’ in India FFO has been organising workshops aimed towards sensitisation and mobilisation of the various State Governments with participation of key industry stakeholders and Nodal officers from the various States. Lakshadweep has also worked closely with FFO to frame the Filming and Incentives policy respectively.

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delHi @ canneS

delhi delights global filmmakers Shurbir Singh, MD & CEO, Delhi Tourism Development Corporation, will be at Cannes looking for producers and filmmakers to shoot in Delhi.

In this interview, he highlights the advantages of making a film in the Indian Capital

the logistical support required to facilitate the process of narrating the story.

The infrastructure that Delhi offers includes hotels, transport, communication, film shooting equipment and film processing. Delhi’s IGI Airport ranks No.1 in the world when it comes to service quality and is capable handling chartered flights. In terms of other resources, trained manpower in the field is readily available in Delhi with disruptively low production costs.

Delhi is the one of the most beautiful capital cities in the world. What steps are being taken by the Delhi Tourism Development Corporation and the Delhi Government to bring global filmmakers and production houses to the Indian Capital?

Delhi as an inimitable city of continuous living history has readily imbibed cultures and civilizations from time immemorial. Today as the Capital of India, Delhi continues to hone and nurture cultures, ethnicities and riveting narratives that have time and again inspired national and international filmmakers to shoot here. Home to three iconic World Heritage

sites: Qutub Minar, Red Fort & Humayun’s Tomb alongside numerous other historic monuments, this eternal city offers a sumptuous banquet of history and heritage seamlessly in tune with its transformation as one of the world’s fastest growing and largest metropolis today.

Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation along with Government of Delhi has been working towards making the Capital a film friendly city.

Apart from coordinating with the various stakeholder agencies on a regular basis, the corporation also has a dedicated page on the website to guide the filmmakers on numerous locations and facilities available in the city. We look forward to inviting the filmmakers and producers to this endearing city and showcase the ‘Delhi Cinemagic’ to one and all.

What according to you are the advantages of getting a film shot in Delhi?

What is your objective at Cannes Film Market?

Shurbir Singh, MD & CEO, Delhi Tourism Development Corporation

36

What Delhi provides is the potent canvas for effective & emotive storytelling and

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Binding the resources available and the procedures involved in acquiring them, Delhi Government facilitates all your permissions to aid production in Delhi.

Any filmmaker can send in their applications directly to Delhi Tourism stating the desired locations to shoot at and the Film Shooting Facilitation Cell, Delhi Tourism will do all the groundwork for you.

A muse for creators across the world, the Indian capital city offers new talent, lower production cost, international connectivity and more than 200 locations to shoot at. Delhi Tourism itself has a few properties which can be used as ideal location for shooting.

Festival de Cannes for us translates into the opportunity to present Delhi and its unrivaled creative potential and logistical ease to the esteemed fraternity of creators. Marking our place in the everexpanding filming universe, we wish to mutually benefit in terms of the creative and tourism discourse.

Is single window clearance a reality in Delhi? What has been the experience dealing with foreign filmmakers?

The initiative of Single window clearance will soon be realized in Delhi.

DTTDC has actively pooled in its time

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pickle entertainment biz guide

and resources to make it a possibility in the near future. We are currently in process of hiring an agency to frame a Film Policy for Delhi, on which we will clearly lay down the nitty gritties involved.

Do you have a panel of line producers on board?

Line producers are one of the key stakeholders that Delhi Tourism is in constant touch with. We take regular inputs in order to better understand the requirements and streamline the shooting process.

Do you have a mechanism in place for film producers to contact when they face problem during a film shoot?

DTTDC is the nodal agency working towards permissions for shoots. Once any producer reaches out to us, we further connect with the requested stakeholder agency and guide them in obtaining necessary permissions. Delhi Tourism is also part of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC), Film Facilitation portal that enables producers to directly reach out to us and seek our assistance for permissions and logistical solutions.

What is your message to the film community at Cannes?

You are the best storytellers in the world, and Delhi has a multitude of stories worth telling. We are committed to enabling creators craft their narratives, staged on the ever inspiring platform of Delhi. As civilizations have arrived and left an everlasting mark on Delhi, we wish the fraternity of creators at Festival de Cannes and beyond helps the Indian Capital carve its space in the hearts and minds of cinematic denizens, film buffs and every awestruck individual, connecting to the stories crafted.

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Vr ready For canneS

Play small & liVe long did Wonders for me I still adhere to the basics I learnt at UTV and the mantra, play small and live long, did wonders for me. As UTV benefited from the satellite invasion in media, I am hoping to capitalise on the digital wave in the media, say Manish Dutt and Krishi Dutt, Directors at VR Films & Studios, who are aiming big at Cannes Market this year

M

anish Dutt runs India’s biggest dubbing Company, managing over 900 artistes who lend their voices in several languages to keep his pipeline engaged. Even after clocking 50,000+ hours of dubbing and witnessing 80 percent year-on-year growth, Manish’s VR Films is hungry for more.

“India is emerging as a hub to dub for Hollywood and European language films,” says Manish, Managing Director, VR Films. “We are positioning ourselves to be a one-stop shop for all dubbing and sub-titling requirements. Our dubbing company is making Hollywood in India.” VR Films is a “Limited” company now…with shares listed on BSE SME Platform….being first Dubbing company in India and second in the world “We have done a number of Chinese films to English, Tamil, Hindi and Telugu. Also, when we dub Chinese films into English (neutral English) it is accepted globally,” says Manish.

The cloud has opened up new business opportunities. “If anyone wants to send their films for dubbing, then all they need to do is to provide an online link and tell us to localise content. We have the capability to do dubbing in 50 languages. We can deliver the product in 10 days and the end product can be retrieved from the cloud.”

The regionalization of TV channels further improved bottomlines of dubbing studios.

VR Films dubs all Discovery Channels Eng-

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pickle entertainment biz guide

lish feed to Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. “We do around 4000 + hours of TV & Feature film dubbing every year.” A chat with Pickle

How does it feel to be at Cannes Film Festival and Cannes Film Market as a listed company? Tell us about your Cannes journey and what’s the business like?

It’s a mixed bag of feelings. Fifteen years back when I first attended Cannes, I was a novice and felt too small a player in the sea of deep pocket international corporates and successful film producers and film agents. But I soon realised that Cannes has an appetite for all kinds of players. If you play your cards well and do not get carried away with the glamour and pomp of Cannes, you can survive and do very well.

Keeping in mind our limited capacity, we would commit to projects and honor them.

After we established our credentials, Cannes helped us grow immensely.

By virtue of being a listed company, we will be attending Cannes with much more vigour and confidence and buying capacity. Today our company has huge and some of the best international projects. As a listed company, we are now acquiring, buyLIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK

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Krishi Dutt and Manish Dutt

Indian content is in big demand and new avenues are opening up, for example China. The local market is huge in India, which is the only country in the world with nearly 12 dialects per language. As the dubbing industry is growing, all platforms are realising the value of localisation. The popularity and footprint of the platforms is increasing immensely due to this and this has resulted into emergence of Netfilx and Amazon who are setting up offices in India and producing India specific content for global market as well

ing or associating with projects not for just 2019 but for 2020 and 2021 as well. Presently, we have acquired 11 big projects for 2020 and 2021 including films of Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, Mel Gibson, Scott Eastwood, etc.

Cannes Film Market is celebrating 60 years this year. How participating in Cannes has benefited VR Films & Studios? What’s your objective this year?

Cannes has always been our major film sourcing acquisition market. We have managed to acquire big projects in the market. In the last three years, we have acquired at least 5-6 major projects in each Cannes market. This year we will primarily be aiming to acquire at least 10-12 projects. We have already short listed the projects and are in the negotiation process.

Since its inception in 2000, VR Films has come a long way. What’s the vision?

It has been quite a journey, and wonderful learning experience. I have met lots of beautiful, influential people along the way who guided us in every step of the way. We started with dubbing and releasing small indie films from Thailand and Hong Kong on single screens in Indian sub-continent. But with the advent of multiplexes and digital media the overall business strategy changed immensely.

Our dubbing business has complemented our growth, especially with the digital media, which is definitely the future of entertainment and we are well geared to use it to our advantage. Even though digital media is presently at a nascent stage, it has benefited us immensely. Versioning and localisation of international content is the best and most economical form of monetisation for all buyers, as today content is the king.

Our vision is to acquire more content, localise it to increase monetisation. Soon we will be producing/creating our own content, feature films and will be localising it in over 20 major international languages across the world. This can only grow upwards in years to come. If you aim to be a global player you will have to adhere to this vision.

How much do you value trust in your business journey?

Trust is a major virtue in our business of acquisition and creating content. This business can never be a one man show.

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pickle entertainment biz guide

A global player needs to build trust with its partners to be able to meet the global demand for content.

Building trust with our global partners is the cornerstone of our business. When any major project is offered to us in its conception stage, it is committed to us once we agree to do it. Legalities are documentation is done later. Before the start of any market, including Cannes, many projects are already committed to us due to the trust factor. The very fact that we are a listed company today, underscores the immense trust we have developed with our investors, common people, or business associates.

You have learnt the ways of this industry in your days at UTV? Who influenced you the most?

UTV (Disney today) was a major turning point in my life. I was a part of UTV from 1993 to 1997 when it was in its nascent stage. UTV pioneered corporatisation in the Indian film and television industry.

Ronnie Screwvala is a visionary who has always been ahead of the curve. I have learnt a lot from him. He will continue to be a benchmark for me. I still adhere to the basics I learnt at UTV and the mantra, play small and live long, did wonders for me. As UTV benefited from the satellite invasion in media, I am hoping to capitalise on the digital wave in the media.

How do you see scope for India as a media & entertainment market, India as a whole market and Indian footprint in global market?

Indian film and content market has a huge unexplored potential worldwide. This had remained largely untapped but is booming now.

Indian content is in big demand and new avenues are opening up, for example China. The local market is huge in India, which is the only country in the world with nearly 12 dialects per language. As the dubbing industry is growing, all platforms are realising the value of localisation. The popularity and footprint of the platforms is increasing immensely due to this and this has resulted into emergence of Netfilx and Amazon who are setting up offices in India and producing India specific content for global market as well.

VR Films has executed hours and hours of dubbing for the world’s top studios. What does language mean to you?

Dubbing as source of revenue was neglected for many years. But of late people have realised its true potential owing to digitisation. Hollywood majors never had it so good with releases in just English language, which would attract only 2-5 percent of Indian population and revenues would be marginal. But due to localization in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages the audience has increased multi-fold and revenue earnings revenues jumped more than 200 percent. Today, Hollywood films would earn as much as a local big budget Hindi or Tamil film.

Pay TV platforms have also realised the potential of localization and their footprint has surged upwards. They have penetrated the interiors of India, which has lapped up localized products. Localization/dubbing will be a game changer and a necessity in the years ahead.

You have been a pioneer in dubbing foreign and Indian languages. Has OTT players like Netflix and Amazon expanded scope of work beyond broadcast?

All OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon, Zee 5, etc have just changed the content creation / production strategy. Today creative ideas which would have been neglected citing market forces not accepting them as per a few existing players then, have now new platforms which are experimenting with content-based programmes /films. These are today being accepted and the void created is being fed. Suddenly everyone realizes there is a huge appetite for content based programmes or films.

These are being localized as well in five major languages. OTT platforms also have an added advantage of exploiting

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The major studios in Hollywood are earning huge revenues from Indian markets.

Indian content, too, is getting localised in various international languages like Mandarin, Thai, German, Bahasa, etc.

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We are now acquiring, buying or associating with projects not for just 2019 but for 2020 and 2021 as well. Presently, we have acquired 11 big projects for 2020 and 2021 including films of Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, Mel Gibson, Scott Eastwood the earlier neglected interior footprint.

This has made OTT platforms very popular as they are accessible in all languages and can be viewed any time as per your convenience. Moreover, language dubs is also being viewed as a source of brushing up your knowledge on various dialects which had taken a backseat with all conversing in English and Hindi languages.

Will you get into film production? You had earlier expressed interest in producing Marathi films.

Yes. Soon we will be producing films in Hindi and other languages. We are already locking scripts which would be green lighted soon.

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You have played an important role in shaping Telangana’s Image policy. How has it shaped up and what’s behind its success?

The sTaTe of Telangana

Telangana

very ProacTive for growTh of enTerTainmenT SecTor The progressive and forward thinking Government of Telangana has not only brought in new policies to support the growth of entertainment sector but is also pro-actively looking for ways to develop the State as a global M&E hub, says K B Reddy, Chairman, Digiquest Studios and VP, Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce

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e also want to identify opportunities for potential collaboration with film studios, support service providers and educational institutions for the growth of film industry and allied services in Telangana.

Telangana State has emerged as a leader in the entertainment sector. What would you attribute as the reasons for this? What are the forward looking policies of the State?

The current government is progressive and forward thinking. Not only have they brought in new policies but they are actively supporting them every step of the way. After the formation of Telangana, Mr. KT Rama Rao identified many key pain points in various sectors of the state.

K B Reddy, Chairman, Digiquest Studios and VP, Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce.

What is your objective at Cannes Film Festival this year?

The objective is to understand the magnanimity of such prominent film festivals, as the Government of Telangana is looking at the possibility of conducting a global film festival.

Another objective is to meet the vendors and proprietors from Telegu Cinema industry because the State is seeking partners to showcase Telugu culture in cinemas across the world and explore new avenues of opportunity.

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The new policies have helped alleviate most of these pain points. This has translated into higher number of jobs, increased FDI inflow and has made life easier for millions of citizens.

Some of the most forward looking policies of the government are: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Rural Tech Policy Innovation Policy – 2016 Gaming & Animation (IMAGE) Policy – 2016 Telangana Open Data Policy

Telangana is very proactive in policy formulation and execution for the growth of entertainment sector. For example, the government has allocated land for the proposed IMAGE CITY, a SEZ for Gaming, Animation, VFX and Entertainment sectors, and invited international players to establish their subsidiaries in Hyderabad. The Image policy is one such policy aimed at the development of AVCGI industry in Hyderabad.

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The process began under the leadership of Shri Ponnala Laxmaiah and Sanjay Jaju, the former IT Minister and IT Secretary of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, with whom I visited cities like Manchester and Dubai to get an overview of their IT Policies focusing on the Media, Entertainment and Gaming sectors.

We also visited some universities to understand the skills and courses required to teach Gaming and Media modules here. Finally we came up with the AVCG policy in 2013.

After the formation of Telangana, we along with Animation, Video and other Media sectors approached Mr. KTR and helped create the Gaming & Animation (IMAGE) policy in 2016. The government has allocated 20 acres of land for the AVGC sector and an ‘Image Tower’ is being built in about 1.6 million sq. ft. at Hitech City in Hyderabad. The IMAGE policy is indeed a forward looking policy. Along with incentives for the businesses, it has various provisions for enterprises, startups and education providers along with incubation facilities.

What are the new action points on the AVGCI sector in the state of Telangana?

The Telangana VFX Animation and Gaming Association (TVAGA) has some of the most prominent members from the industry. The current president is Mr. Rajiv Chilakalapudi, Founder and CEO of Greeen Gold Animation (Maker of Chota Bheem). Also people like Mr. Sridhar Muppidi, Founder of Purple Talk, and Mr Mike Yatham, CMD of RotoMaker, are working really hard to make TVAGA a prominent association in the field of Animation and Gaming in the world. This is really a testament to the leadership of KTR Garu and Jayesh Ranjan Garu.

Will Telangana emerge as a hub for AVGCI sector in the coming years?

I definitely believe in it. Telangana has one of the most forward thinking state governments in the country. They are nurturing the AVCGI sector by assisting us in every way they can. Within 10 years I think Telangana would be the biggest employer and producer in the Animation sector in India. There is lot of talent in Telangana in the field of creative arts. Educational institutions and enterprises supported by the Image policy are actively nurturing the available talent which can produce world-class content to help Telangana emerge as a global AVCGI hub.

Can this be emulated by other States in India?

The best part of the Image policy is that it can be emulated in any state. As long as the respective state governments support it.

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There is no shortage of creative talent in India.

When we look at Mohenjo-daro, Harappa or Ajanta and Ellora caves we are struck by their artistic beauty and creativity of ancient sculptors. Creativity and artistic skills are engrained in our people but we need the right avenue to bring them out.

Any state willing to develop AVCGI industry should really focus on providing the necessary infrastructure and policy support for entrepreneurs. It is indeed becoming a capital intensive industry which requires policy support.

Do you see new jobs coming in the AVGCI sector?

We are just beginning in this sector. This market is worth over $200 billion and we are only scratching the surface. Once our youths are skilled enough in media software they can create amazing games, excellent animation movies or even create their own software.

I think sectors like Augment Reality, Virtual Reality, Mixed Reality and Gaming will witness explosive growth in India in the next few years.

Video content is witnessing a significant growth across the world, thanks to video streaming services coupled with higher mobile speeds and internet connectivity. This would offer growth opportunities for lot of support services in AVCGI. You pioneered in the digital cinema over two decades ago. How do you see digital cinema transforming in recent times?

Yes, I did introduce digital film making in 2003 and it’s now growing in prominence across the country. I have seen those times when few producers even doubted digital cameras, but the entire industry gradually moved towards digital adoption. I am happy that the cost of making a movie has decreased exponentially allowing indie creators to make movies without having to worry about the overheads. I believe in future we will see better cinemas that would target more genres. However, I believe there is a lot of scope in digital distribution – not only in the form of Apps but also in the form of reducing concentration in digital distribution.

From 4K people are now talking of 8K and beyond. Where are we heading?

At Digiquest, we have developed a theatrical server that is capable of streaming 8K and we are planning to introduce it in theatres across Telangana in few months. Thanks to the advancement of technology, the cost of the equipment is going to come down significantly.

By 2024, I won’t be surprised if people are going to see 16K movies. I also think that if theatres don’t innovate soon they would lose the lion’s market share to streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.

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it’S golden Jubilee time For iFFi

iffi

marChing toWards 50th edition The preparations for golden jubilee edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) have started in full swing The 50th IFFI edition (November 20-28, 2019) would trace the history of 49 editions of the festival.

I

FFI will showcase the film culture of each and every region across India and trace the history of IFFI from the 1st to the 49th. Films are made in about 25 different regional languages in India.

IFFI -- Asia’s oldest event of its kind, still holds on to its pre-eminent position as a showcase of cinematic excellence.

The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), the oldest event of its kind in Asia, has over the years witnessed numerous alterations in character, nomenclature, location, dates and duration.

Through it all, it has remained steadfast in its emphasis on showcasing the diversity of Indian cinema as well as in its commitment to the celebration of excellence across movie making genres.

Over the past two and a half decades, several other international film festivals have sprung up across India, notably in Kolkata, Kerala and Mumbai, and they all contribute meaningfully to the collective task of taking quality cinema to a people weaned principally on a staple diet of star-driven, song and dance extravaganzas. But IFFI continues to retain its preeminent position owing to its size, scope and vintage. Not just in the Indian context but also in relation to the other major Asian film festivals, IFFI matters. And this is despite all the inevitable ups and downs that it has seen over the years.

All the other major Asian festivals – Tokyo, Busan and Shanghai – are of far

more recent origin and therefore lack the history that is associated with IFFI, which is now few months shy of its 50th edition. The festival in Tokyo was launched in 1985, the one in Shanghai began in 1993 and the Busan Film Festival came into being in 1996.

IFFI hands out prize money to the tune of US$ 200,000. The winner of the Golden Peacock for the best film takes home $80,000. That apart, the best director and the Special Jury Prize winner bag $30,000 each, while the two acting prizes come with a cash component of $20,000 each.

IFFI also confers two Lifetime Achievement Awards – one to an international film personality, the other to an Indian great. The moves to push IFFI up a few notches have unfolded since the coastal state of Goa became its permanent venue in 2004. IFFI now has a far more settled feel than ever before, with each improvement in terms of infrastructure and programming initiatives adding value to both the event and the location.

On the programming side, IFFI not only unveils the best films from around the multilingual country with the aim of providing a glimpse of the sheer range and dynamism of Indian cinema, it also puts together a remarkable slate of brand new world cinema titles.

IFFI also hosts many retrospectives, tributes, master classes and special sections, which enhance the variety and depth of the event. The master classes

have emerged as a highlight of the festival, especially for film school students who converge in Goa during the tenday event.

India’s first international film festival was organized within five years of the nation attaining Independence. It was a non-competitive event held in 1952 in Bombay (Now Mumbai). A special feature of the inaugural function was the screening of the first film screened in India in 1896 by the Lumiere brothers. Frank Capra was part of the American delegation that attended the festival.

After a fortnight-long run in Bombay, the festival travelled to Calcutta (now Kolkata), Madras (now Chennai) and Delhi. The first international film festival of India is rightfully credited with triggering a burst of creativity in Indian cinema by exposing young Indian filmmakers to the best from around the world, especially to Italian neo-realism.

It isn’t without significance that Satyajit Ray’s first film, Pather Panchali, was completed in 1955, and Bimal Roy’s classic Hindi film, Do Bigha Zameen, was released in 1953.

Six decades on, IFFI continues to provide a useful platform to young Indian filmmakers who work outside the mainstream distribution and exhibition system and in languages that do not have access to the pan-Indian market that Hindi cinema has.

The Indian Panorama, a section that is made up of both features and non-features, opens global avenues for films made by veterans and newcomers alike.

It wasn’t until 1961 that the second edition of the festival, also non-competitive and hosted by Delhi, was mounted, but the idea of an itinerant festival had been sown.

In 1965, the year of its third edition, the festival secured ‘A’ category grading from the Paris-based FIAPF (Federation Internationale des Associations de Producteurs de Films), which brought it on par with the world’s biggest festivals in Venice, Cannes, Berlin, Moscow and Karlovy Vary.

IFFI now has a permanent home in Goa. The coastal state has benefitted appreciably from the shift. Its cinema has received a huge fillip in the decade and a half that Panaji has hosted IFFI. Filmmakers in the coastal state have been increasingly making their mark on the national and international stage.

IFFI -- Asia’s oldest event of its kind, still holds on to its pre-eminent position as a showcase of cinematic excellence

innoVatiVe international Film FeStiVal

Celebrating international films in Bangalore

Innovative Film City, Bengaluru, Karnataka Spread in a total area of almost 58 acres, the Innovative Film City in Bidadi, Bengaluru, was opened for public in the year 2008. The place is divided into two parts. The first part includes the amusement park, museums, rides, etc.

The second part has a studio and a film academy which is used to shoot movies, commercials, etc.

Around 40 kms outside the Garden City on the way to Mysore, the Innovative Film City is well equipped with film production infrastructure, a professional technical, creative team and enthralling shooting locations. Besides studio space, it offers entire post-production facility for films. It also houses a film training institute.

For more details: info@innovativefilmcity.in

The Innovative International Film Festival showcased well-curated 106 Indian and international films in 26 different languages spread over 6 Screens at Innovative film Studios in Bangalore

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engaluru, or Bangalore as it is better known as, hosted the second edition of Innovative International Film Festival from May 1 to 5. The event has been a great success, with the highlight being the intense participation by 19 countries. Italy was the country of focus, and Israel, Mexico, Indonesia, Russia, UK, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, European Union, Iran, Bulgaria, Greece, France, Lithuania, Luxembourg were the other participants.

The festival showcased well-curated 106 Indian and international films in 26 different languages spread over 6 Screens at Innovative film Studios in Bangalore. The festival offered an ex-

tensive networking platform and witnessed the presence of high profile dignitaries & filmmakers from Indian film Industry and abroad. IIFF 2019 was inaugurated by the President of South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce- Kattragadda Prasad.

The entire film fraternity and governing bodies of the industry showed their appreciation and support for the festival organized by Saravana Prasad, Chairman of Innovative Group and the efforts of the festival Creative Director, Upasana Mittal could be well observed in the planning, presentation and execution of the film festival.

The event offered an extensive networking platform for regional producers and directors from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka & Andhra and was marked by many collaborations between Indian filmmakers and foreign countries. Italy, Russia, Israel, etc. elaborated their coproduction policies and treaties and shooting locations inviting Indian producers to come and shoot in these countries.

Melba Pria - Ambassador of Mexico to India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh & Maldives - Mexican Consulate, Italian Consul general, Stepfania, Karnataka Film Chambers President, Director, Malaysia tourism, Logi Thasan, Chinne Gowda, Additional Director General of Doordarshan, were amongst the other dignitaries present in the festival.

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from the editor’s desk

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e are delighted to present the latest issue of Pickle on the occasion of 72nd Cannes Film Festival and 60th anniversary of Cannes Film Market. This is the 13th edition of Pickle at the Cannes Film Market. We thank Marche Du Film for all the support .

Film producers, independent filmmakers, buyers, entertainment service providers have immensely benefited from Cannes Film Market. While no Indian film has figured in the Official Competition Section (the last one is Shaji N Karun’s Swaham of 1994), Cannes Film Market has been attracting over 200 delegates year after year from India. For the first time in a decade, Indian films have not been selected in the sidebar sections of the festival this year.

Indian delegates are present at Cannes with a clear objective on sales and syndication, scouting for co-production or buy films for Indian Sub Continent. The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India is present both at the Village International and the Cannes Film Market. The India Pavilion (#110) at the Village International is managed

by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce (FICCI) and India Pavilion booth (#24.01) at the Palais market area is managed by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

For the second consecutive year, CII is hosting the opening cocktails at the Producer’s Network and Industry Workshop on May 15. Over a dozen filmmakers and producers are representing Maharashtra Film, Stage & Cultural Development Corporation. Film Facilitation Office is present at the Indian Pavilion and meet them for guidance on filming in India. The FFO website www.ffo.gov.in is a one stop source for filming needs in India. There are over 16 market screenings from India majorly by independent filmmakers. The Indian delegation at Cannes is not dominated by established studios but independent filmmakers who are striving to excel in the crowded market place.

A large number of Indian creators with focus on Web Series and mobile content are present at the market. Glorious Dead, a film completely shot by iPhone will be screened at the market. India is now the world’s top mobile broadband market.

Indian film industry’s structure is rapidly changing, driving new ways to produce, distribute and monetize content across platforms.

Our forthcoming issue of Pickle in June will focus on India’s strength in services space with special emphasis on animation, VFX for Annecy’s MIFA. Feel free to email your suggestions.

n vidyasagar

pickle media nat@pickle.co.in www.picklemag.co.in Pickle Volume XIII 1st edition Published by Pickle Media Private Limited Email: natvid@gmail.com l Mumbai l Chennai No.2, Habib Complex Dr Durgabhai Deshmukh Road RA Puram CHENNAI 600 028

Senior Editor : Vivek Ratnakar Editorial Coordinators : M Sai Design: Jose J Reegan Photo Editor: K K Laskar

Pickle is an ad supported business guide tracking the filmed entertainment business in India.

For advertising: natvid@gmail.com

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Pickle Business Guide 2019 Copyright 2019 by Pickle Media Pvt Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

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