Castaldi and Sharma announce Australian fest in India
Peter Castaldi and Anupam Sharma will be the directors of the Australian Film Festival of India, which will be held annually in Mumbai coinciding with the Indian screen conference FICCI-FRAMES.
AFFI will present a program of Australian features, shorts and documentaries, as well as masterclasses from Australian practitioners and a financial grant for development of an Indo-Australian project.
“AFFI will celebrate Australian cinematic achievements and is our attempt to provide a much needed, strong platform in India for Australians to promote, collaborate, and distribute their work and cinema culture,” said Sharma.
The executive director of the Screen Producers Association of Australia said the organisation welcomes and supports the event.
“It will provide a strategic platform for Australian and Indian producers to connect at a meaningful level on the development and financing of future projects, which will be crucial to the success of any official co-production treaty between our two countries. We have had many dealings with India through our participation in FRAMES and the Film Bazaar at the Goa International Film Festival. We see India as an important partner for filmmaking in our region, and we believe that this initiative will stimulate exciting creative and commercial relationships for the future,” said Brown.
The first edition will be held on March 26 and 27; it will include a retrospective of director Bill Bennett, as well as the release of a new edition of India’s guide to Australian film services and facilities. The full program will be announced later this month.
