New Delhi: The Indian Delegation at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2019 continued their deliberations with key personalities from the film industry and those associated with the festival circuit. In their discussions with representatives of Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), the Indian Delegation representatives Shri Chaitanya Prasad, Additional Director General, Directorate of Film Festival and Ms Dhanpreet Kaur, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting explored the possibilities and options of enhanced Indian presence at Berlinale 2020.
Positioning India at Berlinale
The first round of discussions were held with Ms Jana Wolff, Head- Marketing & Advertising, Berlinale. The representative of Berlinale was apprised of the policy changes in the Film Sector which were aimed at ‘ease of shooting in India’; the contours of Single Window Clearance was also outlined. Ms. Wolff mentioned the possible options the European Film Market would be looking into in order to ensure greater participation of India.
Subsequently, the Indian delegation met Ms Mariette Rissenbeek, Executive Director, Berlin International Film Festival, to broadly discuss enhanced presence of Indian films in the Berlinale segment. Ms Rissenbeek ensured the idea would be looked into by the creative & artistic wing of Berlinale
Indian Delegation interacts with Prominent Stakeholders at TIFF
Prominent visitors to the Indian pavilion included Ms Joane Vicente, Co-head & Executive Director, Toronto International Film Festival. She was apprised of the 50th IFFI and the segments of programming. She was presented the IFFI Framework – Brochure and Poster. She expressed appreciation for IFFI 2019 and hoped for its grand success.
The Delegation also had interactions with the prominent stakeholders from the Global Film Fraternity including Mr David Vella, Director, Board & Executive Relations, Toronto International Film Festival; Mr Craig Prater, President, Heartland Film Festival; Mr Colin Burrows, CEO , Special Treats Productions; Mr Meng Xie, CEO, Rediance Films; and Mr Tarek Shoukri, Visit Films. The stakeholders expressed desire towards participation at the Golden Jubilee Edition of IFFI, their appreciation of the policy changes aimed at ‘ease of shooting in India’ and recent initiatives to promote film facilitation in the form of single window clearance.
