India made significant strides at the Cannes Film Festival and Market 2023, showcasing its creative economy and establishing its position as a global player in the film industry. Here are ten notable achievements by India at Cannes

India’s Creative Economy: India is the world’s largest producer of films with over 3000 films in over 50 languages. These films carry a message of India’s strength in storytelling across the world. This year, India strategically highlighted its creative economy as the central theme at the Cannes Film Festival and Market. This emphasized India’s growing presence in the global film industry and its efforts to leverage its creative talent and economic growth to enhance its soft power globally.A slew of initiatives through Digital India, Start Up India, rural telecom connectivity, policy reforms creating positive environment for data affordability and availability are creating a robust foundation of a Creative Economy.

Animation, VFX, Post Production Strengths : India showcased its prowess in Animation, Visual Effects, and Post Production (AVGC) at Cannes, highlighting the country’s capabilities in these areas. This aimed to attract international collaborations, co-productions, and investments in India’s AVGC industry. Indian film industry has undergone significant changes in recent years with advent of newer technologies and rise of digital and streaming platforms. It was highlighted that today it’s difficult to find a movie without an Indian name in its credits for animation or VFX.

Meetings on Co-Production Agreements: Indian delegates actively participated in meetings and discussions to establish co-production agreements with various countries. This endeavour aimed to foster collaboration in executing joint projects and expanding international partnerships in the film industry.

India has announced a scheme to provide financial incentives for co-production projects, i.e., audio-visual co-production with foreign countries with which India has bilateral Audio-Visual Co-Production treaties. India has bilateral Audio-Visual Co-Production treaties with 16 countries, including Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Israel, Korea, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Efforts are on to include more countries under these agreements. Under this scheme, the government offers a reimbursement of 30% of Qualifying Co-Production Expenditure (QPE) incurred in India, subject to a cap of INR 20 Million (approximately US$ 244,000).

With three films shortlisted in three distinct categories and two of them bringing home Oscars – the world has just scratched the surface of the creativity, content and technical capabilities of the Indian Film Industry. With powerful narratives, high-end skill-based content curation and post-production capabilities and co-production treaties with 16 countries, India has emerged as an attractive destination for filmmakers worldwide

Incentives for filming in India: India promoted the incentives and advantages it offers for filmmakers to shoot their projects in the country. This included showcasing India’s diverse and picturesque locations, cost-effective production infrastructure, and government-backed incentives to attract international productions. Following film incentives announced last year at the Cannes, India’s presence in Cannes 2023 took the momentum further.

India offers two incentive schemes to promote film production in India, including animation and post-production, and to encourage co-production with foreign countries. Besides these central government schemes, various state governments also offer incentives to promote filmmaking.

To encourage the production of foreign films in India, including Animation and Post Production, the scheme announced by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting offers a reimbursement of 30% of Qualifying Production Expenditure (QPE) incurred in India, subject to a cap of INR 20 Million (approximately US$ 244,000). Additionally, an extra 5% of QPE, capped at INR 5 million (approximately US$ 60,000), is provided as a bonus for employing 15% or more Indian workforce.

Invitation for IFFI 2023: Indian representatives extended invitations to delegates to attend the forthcoming 54th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in 2023. This aimed to further enhance India’s position as a global hub for film festivals and provide a platform for networking and showcasing Indian cinema.

Country Pavilions at IFFI 2023 and Film Bazaar: India invited countries to set up pavilions at IFFI 2023 and Film Bazaar, reinforcing the event’s international stature and creating opportunities for cultural exchange, business collaborations, and distribution partnerships.

Delegation Members from the North East: For the first time this year, India had sent an official delegation of talented filmmakers from the North Eastern states of India to the Cannes Film Festival. The idea was to bring to Cannes the depth and diversity of India’s rich cinematic culture while the country recognizes and promotes regional diversity in filmmaking back home. The National Film Archive of India had digitalised the negatives of ‘Ishanou,’ the Manipuri Language film that was selected in the Cannes Classic Section this year.Delegates from the North East states of India actively promoted their unique locales as filming destinations and explored potential co-production opportunities. This aimed to highlight the diverse landscapes and cultural richness of the North East region and attract filmmakers to explore its untapped potential.

Our technological forte of the IT sector merged with the rich talent pool of artists, makes India the best suited for serving as the Content Creator for the global Cinema. Our government had set up a task force for the promotion of this sector. A National Centre of Excellence for AVGC is also in pipeline

India Positioned itself both in Village International and inside the Cannes Film Market: India strategically positioned itself in key areas within the Cannes ecosystem, including the Village International and inside the market. This ensured maximum visibility and engagement with industry professionals, distributors, and potential partners.

Engaging with Buyers and the Syndication of Content: Indian content creators who had finished projects or ready content actively engaged with buyers and explored avenues for syndication. This aimed to secure distribution deals and partnerships to bring Indian content to a global audience.

India needs to have a bigger, more organised presence at Cannes and other festivals, and requires adopting a more aggressive approach to promote Indian films. A larger presence will do justice to the scale and strength of Indian cinema

Engagement with Overseas Delegates in Conferences: Indian delegates actively participated in conferences, discussions and networking, engaging with international delegates at the India Pavilion (Village International). This fostered knowledge sharing, explored emerging trends in the film industry, and created opportunities for collaboration on a global scale.

IFFI Invites For A Gala Show In Goa

Invitation for IFFI 2023: Indian representatives extended invitations to delegates to attend the forthcoming 54th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in 2023. This aimed to further enhance India’s position as a global hub for film festivals and provide a platform for networking and showcasing Indian cinema.

Country Pavilions at IFFI 2023 and Film Bazaar: India invited countries to set up pavilions at IFFI 2023 and Film Bazaar, reinforcing the event’s international stature and creating opportunities for cultural exchange, business collaborations, and distribution partnerships.

For the first time this year, India had sent an official delegation of talented filmmakers from the North Eastern states of India to the Cannes Film Festival. The idea was to bring to Cannes the depth and diversity of India’s rich cinematic culture while the country recognizes and promotes regional diversity in filmmaking back home. The National Film Archive of India had digitalised the negatives of ‘Ishanou,’ the Manipuri Language film that was selected in the Cannes Classic Section this year.

Delegates from the North East states of India actively promoted their unique locales as filming destinations and explored potential co-production opportunities. This aimed to highlight the diverse landscapes and cultural richness of the North East region and attract filmmakers to explore its untapped potential.

India Positioned itself both in Village International and inside the Cannes Film Market: India strategically positioned itself in key areas within the Cannes ecosystem, including the Village International and inside the market. This ensured maximum visibility and engagement with industry professionals, distributors, and potential partners.

Engaging with Buyers and the Syndication of Content: Indian content creators who had finished projects or ready content actively engaged with buyers and explored avenues for syndication. This aimed to secure distribution deals and partnerships to bring Indian content to a global audience.

Indian Pavilion at Cannes 2023 is to facilitate cinematic partnerships and act as a bridge between cinematic cultures of the world. This years’ theme at the India pavilion is to showcase India’s creative economy to the global community

Engagement with Overseas Delegates in Conferences: Indian delegates actively participated in conferences, discussions and networking, engaging with international delegates at the India Pavilion (Village International). This fostered knowledge sharing, explored emerging trends in the film industry, and created opportunities for collaboration on a global scale.

Indian Pavilion at Cannes 2023 is to facilitate cinematic partnerships and act as a bridge between cinematic cultures of the world. This years’ theme at the India pavilion is to showcase India’s creative economy to the global community