The National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) of India will be holding Film Bazaar 2008 from 26 – 29 November in Goa.
Film Bazaar will offer a new "Co-Production Market Section for Documentaries."
Over these four days, Film Bazaar will host an International Co-Production Market, which will invite submissions for feature films and documentaries that are Indian centric and which will be seeking a global platform for international audiences. Selected projects will have the opportunity to seek collaboration in the realm of distribution and production with potential international and Indian partners.
In the films segment, 15 feature film projects and in the newly introduced documentary section, 10 documentary projects will be presented at the market for the global audience.
There will also be a Screenwriters’ Lab from 26- 30 November, which will run concurrent to the Film Bazaar. The lab will be conducted by guest mentors and will be held in association with Binger Filmlab, which is an Amsterdam based International Feature Film Development Centre. A select pool of Indian screenwriters will be individually mentored in the development of feature film screenplays.
Seven screenplays will be selected and advised in their development by guest mentors. Last year, Film Bazaar had amongst others, mentors such as Academy award winning director Danis Tanovic, screenwriters Olivia Hetreed and Bernd Lichtenberg. Mani Ratnam was also a guest mentor at last year’s workshop.
The recently completed NFDC and NDTV Imagine co-production The White Elephant directed by Aijaz Khan and written by Ayeesha Menon was a screenplay successfully developed at Binger FilmLab.
Applications are open for the "Film Bazaar Co-production Market: Feature Films and Documentaries" and "Film Bazaar Screenwriters’ Lab" till 25 August.
A special knowledge sharing workshop will be conducted as a part of Film Bazaar for five pre-selected films at rough cut and story board stage. Each film will be mentored by four – five advisors drawn from India and abroad. Terms and Regulations for this workshop will be announced in August.
NFDC will organize The Film and Business Conclave on global industry developments in association with Screen International, which will comprise keynote address, seminars, and panel discussions.
Speakers from India and abroad including Danis Tanovic, Gary Hamilton from Arclight Films, Shekhar Kapur etc will hold discussions on various topics.
The Business Lounge aims at providing an interactive platform between prospective buyers and sellers of all film rights from India and abroad. Delegates can also avail of pitching sessions, master classes and screenings in this conclave.
Last year in Film Bazaar, 40 international delegates from over 18 countries including industry stalwarts like Fortissimo Films, Pandora Films, Back – Up Films and Arclight Films and 298 other Indian producers participated.
NFDC managing director Nina Gupta said, "Film Bazaar every year aims at promoting cinema, which reflects the diversity of India and which aims to tell unseen and unheard stories of contemporary India with a view to taking these stories to International audiences. With a vibrant congregation from all over the globe bringing filmmaking and distribution expertise to India, Film Bazaar is a global learning and networking business opportunity for production studios and independent producers who seek an international market for Indian stories."
