Film Producer Chandrakant Singh is at European Film Market to do co-production deals for international films. He shares his views ranging from changing cinema business in India to how films with local stories and heavy on content are taking on the gradually fading stardom in Bollywood Interview with Chandrakant singh
Rajasthan-born Director and Producer Chandrakant Singh is at Berlinale and European Film Market 2020 to do co-production deals for international films. His Indo-US coproduction feature film ‘Lost in Goa’, which is being made in collaboration with US-based producer Peter Ziebert, is set to be entirely shot in India with Indian and international actors. The soft-spoken Director- Producer of web-series Fashion Street and commercial Bollywood film ‘Kya Masti Kya Dhoom’, sees Berlinale as an apt platform where he can meet experts and collaborators to learn and create a bigger market.
What are your main objectives of visiting the Berlinale and European Film Market 2020?
The basic objective is to look for co-production deals wherein we combine the creative energies to make international films. Berlinale has been at the forefront of progressive cinema and it gives us immense exposure to bid in the European market.
What do you look forward to in the year 2020? Also, what’s your long-term vision of this decade?
This decade will witness several changes in cinema business. The shift from cinema screens to digital consumption is something which will rule the coming decade. The streaming giants will see more glorious days as there is enough optimism on cross cultural stories.
What are the current projects you are working on? Tell us about the Co-Production partners you are looking for the new project?
I am currently working on an Indo- US coproduction English feature film ‘Lost in Goa’, which will be entirely shot in India with Indian and international actors. This project is in collaboration with US-based producer Peter Ziebert. At present, I am looking for more deals, wherein we work on international subjects and create a bigger market.
You have been visiting many markets across the world in recent times? But it will be your first time at Berlinale and European Film Market. What is the most important thing you want to achieve at EFM?
I have been doing rounds of several international film festivals, which helped me produce and direct films like ‘SIX X’. I am always open to learn. Learning is the essence of a good filmmaker. Having developed enough sense of international collaborations, I want to now channelize my energy in developing my international ventures and Berlinale can provide me a good platform to sign some good co-production deals to take my projects forward.
Film ‘Parasite’ has won the Best Picture at Oscars? How do you see this change?
‘Parasite’ winning at Oscars is one of the best news for cinema in recent times. It is the first movie in a language other than English to take home the Oscar for Best picture in the award show’s 92-year-old history. Thus, it has opened the doors for filmmakers like us to tell stories which are rooted and have cultural echoes.
What are your thoughts on OTT and streaming? How do you see it impacting India?
The impact of streaming is going to be huge in India, given the rise in access to internet and smart phones in the country. I think this is a welcome change as it opens new doors for creativity. I believe that the bigger the platform is, the better the scope for creative people like me.
What are the major trends driving the Indian film industry today? The mass market seems to be dying and big heroes like Shah Rukh Khan are not anymore successful. Only content-driven cinema has been working for the last two years or so?
Yes, I agree that the stardom in Indian cinema is gradually fading. Films with local stories and heavy on content are working nowadays in India, which is an excellent thing. With a new breed of producers coming up, more innovative ideas and courageous stories can be seen. It’s a great time
to be in Indian film industry. We are enjoying this paradigm shift.
Highlights
Ramesh Sharma’s New Documentary Film on Gandhi at AFM
What’s New Search Engine Neeva Can Do That Google Cannot?
Uday Shankar forms New Tech and Media Venture with James Murdoch
CII Seeks Industry Status for M&E in Union Budget
15 Films Compete for Golden Peacock at #IFFI51
Top IFFI Picks: Another Round, Mehrunisa, Wife of A Spy
Hybrid IFFI From January 16
51st IFFI Will Capture New Narratives in Cinema
CII BIG PICTURE SUMMIT 2012: Growth Triggers From Ronnie
What Media Guru Amit Khanna Said in CII BIG PICTURE SUMMIT 2012
LATAM Market Ventana Sur from November 30
Blue Efficience Roped in For Ventana Sur
Films to watch @ Ventana Sur
India Rolls out Red Carpet to Foreign Filmmakers
The Warrior Queen of Jhansi at AFM
With Film Visa, Global Producers Can Now Shoot in India
www.cinemarket.io – Buy, Sell & Engage
Embracing Cinema Through Screens of all Sizes
Nomadland wins People’s Choice at Toronto
MIPCOM 2020 Goes Entirely Online
South Korea will be MIPCOM 2020 country of honor
India, the Window of Opportunity
Get Ready for Hybrid IFFI
Film Making Centres of India
Get Your Film Take Wings at Virtual Film Bazaar
Make at least Ten co-productions in a year
Filmmakers Should Make use of India-Canada Treaty
TIFF: The Show and Business Goes on
Navigating Toronto Film Festival and Industry
Make in India, Show the World
Be Part of the Pickle India Focused Toronto Edition
ads2OTT set to Launch in Oct 2020
MovieSaints to release Memories of a Forgotten War
Truth Is Dead
Submissions Open For Berlinale Co-Production Market
Gender Equality-Berlinale Eliminates Silver Bear for Best Actor and Best Actress
All3Media, A+E Networks, BBC Studios, ZDF Join MIPCOM 2020 Global UPFRONTS Lineup
NürnbergMesse’s Content India Show from October 29-31
Berlinale 2021 Will be a Physical Festival; EFM in Hybrid Format
Best of 2020: A Dazzling Dozen
Striking the Right Chord
Ishaan Khatter looking ‘beyond clouds’ with promising upcoming projects
IFFI 2020 Adopts Hybrid Online-Physical Edition
India Unbound
20 Films That Make us Believe Freedom is Priceless
Krishna Janmashtami Special
National Education Policy: Game Changer
18 Must-See Films at Venice 2020
Ayushmann Turns Athlete
Indian Trio in Venice
Blockchain: The Future is Now
Not right time to open cinema halls: Ravi Kottarakara
Meet, ERICA. AI Actor in a SCI-FI Film
Vidya Balan Set to Shine as Shakuntala Devi
Straight Answers From Alexander Shulgin
Content is king for Saregama’s Yoodlee
Nuggets From Animation Thought Leaders
NYIFF Takes Virtual Route
From The Heart Of Disney
New Model of Filmmaking in India
My Journey: How I Did It
Animation in the Age of Art & Tech
Gaurav Banerjee: Star Unveiled
FDI cap of 26% for News Aggregators Under Consideration
The Changemaker
COVID-19 has Accelerated Digital Shift Towards Across Sectors
No Business as Usual for Film Industry
What’s Wrong With our News Media Today ?
The Fire Inside Regina
Gaming Industry Braves Covid
Disney +Hotstar Leads the Disruption
Taapsee’s takes on OTT, Nepotism & Covid
Oscar Invites QUBE’s Senthil Kumar to be its Member at Large
The New Oscar Award Date April 25, 2021
India to Offer Incentive Package for Film Shoots and Co-Production
Strings of Genius
A Ray That Still Lights The Way
Best of the Cannes Official Selection 2020 Films
Most Awaited Films of India
56 Films: Cannes Reveals 2020 Lineup
The Making of Cannes 2020 Film Selection Process
Cannes Virtual Film Market Extends Earlybird Registration to June 12
Take a Look at Annecy Competition Lineup
Getting Back to Business, Reveals Media Consumption Pattern
Cannes 2020 to Announce Festival Selection Lineup on June 3
20 Work in Progress Tiltles Unveiled for Goes to Cannes
Annecy VR Works Selections for Digital MIFA Market
Film Bazaar’s Work in Progress Films from India Goes to Cannes Virtual Market
Navigating Virtual Cannes Film Market 2020
Meet the Streamers: HBO Max & Quibi Keynotes at Cannes Virtual Film Market
Dedicated Cannes XR Virtual Edition from June 24-26
Screen Moms; Best Movies to Stream on Mother’s Day
Vijay Deverakonda: The Lovable ‘Rowdy’
Sai Pallavi: Natural Beauty is a Natural Actor Too
Cannes Virtual Film Market Registration Opens May 13
COVID-19: Nuggets from Netflix’s Ted Sarandos on Filming and Safety Protocols
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is New Sensation in Netflix Original Series Never Have I Ever
The Best Movies of 2001-2019 Not Streaming in OTT Platforms
Best Movies of the New Millennium Streaming Now
Best Movies of the New Millennium Streaming Now
Best Movies of the New Millennium Streaming Now
Best Movies of the New Millennium Streaming Now
Best Movies of the New Millennium Streaming Now
Annecy Unveils Virtual Film Festival and Market in June
Roskino to Host Russian Virtual Digital Content Market from June 8
27 Rishi Kapoor Films to Stream at Home Now
Virtual Nab Show Express will Take Place May 13-14, 2020
51 International Film Festival of India, Goa ( 20 -28 November, 2020)
Films to Watch in 2020
Christopher Nolan Films Tenet in Mumbai
A Call From Uttarakhand For Filmmakers Of The World
FFO Rolls Out Red Carpet For Foreign Filmmakers
INDIA@BERLINALE-Indian Cinema’s Voices Emerging
51st IFFI TO Mark Satyajit Ray’s Centenary Celebrations
Infusing Life With Dubbing AT VR Films & Studios
Sailing well in Animation Waters
Berlinale 2020: India’s Laila Aur Satt Geet Selected for ‘Encounters’ Section
Prateek Vats’ Eeb Allay Ooo! in Berlinale Panaroma
Berlinale Shorts: Ekta Mittal’s ‘Gumnaam Din’ to showcase of pain of separation
Berlinale Talents: Seven Indians Make It to the List
My Salinger Year is the Opening Film at 70th Berlinale
GET READY for EUROPEAN FILM MARKET 2020
BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL 2019 WINNERS
Berlinale Forum Celebrates Golden Jubilee in 2020
Berlinale 2020 Poster Unveiled
British Actor Jeremy Irons Will Be the Jury President of Berlinale 2020
Amit Khanna: The Renaissance Man
Fantastic Friend
THE MEDIA GURU-AMIT KHANNA
STRAIGHT ANSWERS FROM AMIT KHANNA
THE DEFINING DECADE -THE 1990s
10 Achievements of Amit Khanna
Reflections on Amit Khanna
Valuable Moments
India Enchants John Bailey
The Big Bachchan of Bollywood
ETERNAL SUPERSTAR: RAJINIKANTH
IFFI 50 & Fantastic-Lifetime Achievement Award to Isabelle Huppert
INDIA’S FLAGSHIP FILM FESTIVAL TURNS 50
BACK IN BUSINESS WITH A BANG
GET THE BEST OUT OF FILM BAZAAR 2019
Transforming Hollywood from pixels to voxels
Government of India committed to Safeguard IP content: Commerce Secretary
Must do Things at AFM
Why India Attracts Foreign Filmmakers
Pickle at MIPCOM 2019
INDIAN COMPANIES AT MIPCOM
Super Audio: Licensed to Thrill
Jungle Book Season 3 Ready
Issuance of VPL in India
Editor’s Note: 44th Toronto International Film Festival Pickle Sept 2019 Edition
The OSCAR RACE begins HERE…
Seven Indian Indie Filmmakers To Watch
Indian Cinema Of Today: A Culturally Responsive Artifact
Indie Resurgence
Indian Films At Toronto a Sparkling Quartet
IFFI Matters @ 50
Four Indian Films at the Toronto International Film Festival 2019
India Pavilion at Toronto International Film Market 2019
Made in Afghan Film ‘Hava, Maryam, Ayesha’ To Compete at Venice Festival
Keerthy Suresh: The Mahanati of Mahanati. Best Actress, National Film Award
Uttarakhand Bags National Award for Most Film Friendly State
66th National Film Awards Winners for 2018
Watan Adds Colour to Indian Independence Day
dream hampton and Brie Miranda Bryant to Feature in MIPCOM’S Women in Global Entertainment Lunch 2019
Making a Song and Dance of it
NFDC Invites Applications for Production of Films in Indian Languages; Deadline September 8, 2019
IFFI Calls for Entry for Indian Panorama in 50th Edition
Ease of Filming in India
Come, Film In Inida
Why TikTok wants to invest $1 billion in India?
Priyanka Chopra’s The Sky is Pink Set to Premiere in 2019 Toronto Internaitonal Film Festival’s Gala Section
Gitanjali Rao’s Animation Feature Bombay Rose to open Critics’ Week at Venice International Film Festival
76th Venice International Film Festival to Open With Hirokazu Kore-eda’s ‘The Truth’
Indian Cinema’s Soft Power Misses the Mark in Nirmala Sitharaman’s Maiden Budget Speech
Shahid’s Kabir Singh Becomes Top-Grossing Film of 2019
Finance Minister Proposes FDI Norm Relaxation in Media
Media & Entrtainment as Champion Sector Figures in the Economic Survey 2018-19
Indian Cinema’s Steady Rise on Global Stage
Glimpses of the future
IFFI Marching Towards 50th Edition
Cannes or Netflix? Is Netflix an acceptable remediation for Cannes’ decades-long little regard for Indian Cinema?
Play Small & Live Long Did Wonders for Me
Production Services, VFX, Animation In India
Pickle Nab Show April 2014 Issue
Pickle July 6-12 2020 FICCI FRAMES Curtain Raiser Edition
Netflix unveiles mobile plan for India at Rs 199