NEW DELHI: “Indian cinema is much more than Bollywood and represents diverse styles,” said Cameron Bailey, artistic director & co-head, Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry held an all India breakfast session on the sidelines of the TIFF. The Indian delegation apprised participants about friendly policy initiatives and framework for filming in India and also on the process and procedure for obtaining clearance for shooting through a single-window mechanism. The delegation explored partnerships for film festivals, including the golden jubilee edition of International Film Festival of India, this year.
Bailey talked about the richness of Indian cinema with different styles, languages and regional flavours which are reflected in the large scale musicals, animation, serious dramas, comedies and other genres of films produced in the country. He added that there was no other country that made films like India.
The Canadian government was apprised of the recent initiatives undertaken by the Indian government towards facilitating synergy between producers to foster co-productions. The government has taken measures such as a single-window facilitation and clearance mechanism for according permissions for domestic and international filmmakers for filming in India and combined source of film-related information in the country.
This would lead to greater ‘ease of navigation’, policy changes to standardise the process of permissions across India, keenness of the government to organise conferences for sensitising Indian and international filmmakers.
The creation of an ecosystem of nodal officers across states and union territories for faster processing of shooting permissions were also highlighted during the meet. According to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, other countries expressed their desire to participate in the 2019 IFFI.