Screen Australia and SPAA lead producer delegation to India
Films & Casting Temple’s Anupam Sharma, Lauren Edwards of Goalpost Pictures and Robyn Kershaw are among 10 producers heading to India for the Goa Film Bazaar to help create tighter links between the Australian and Indian film industries. The delegation is lead by Screen Australia and the screen Producers Association of Australia.
The announcement:
Screen Australia and the Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA) will lead a delegation of Australian producers to the Goa Film Bazaar to develop new and reinforce existing screen industry partnerships in India.
India is now Australia’s third biggest export market and the two countries have a strong and growing bilateral relationship. With a population of 1.2 billion, a prolific film industry and millions of passionate cinema-goers, India has many potential opportunities for Australian screen content. Australian producers have a growing interest in developing projects with Indian partners and an official co-production treaty is in negotiation.
Organised annually alongside the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) at the Goa Marriott Resort, the market is a significant event on the South Asian calendar where delegates buy, sell, exhibit and pitch their content. Six hundred and thirty-five delegates from across 40 countries attended the 2011 Goa Film Bazaar with country delegations from Canada and Israel. The sixth Film Bazaar will be held 21–24 November 2012.
Seventeen Australians will be attending the Film Bazaar this year including 10 producers who will present their projects to the co-production market: Sheila Jayadev (Emerald Productions), Anupam Sharma (Films & Casting Temple), Lauren Edwards (Goalpost Pictures), James Lingwood (Great Southern Ark Productions), Ana Tiwary (inDiVisual Films), Robyn Kershaw (Robyn Kershaw Productions), Mark Ruse (Ruby Entertainment), Peter Dodds (Storyshare International), Ros Walker (Walker Films) and John Winter (Wintertime Films).
Screen Australia has compiled a booklet featuring the Australian delegation attending the market which also outlines the benefits and features of working with Australia, including our Producer Offset. Check out the Australia at Goa Film Bazaar booklet.
As part of the Film Bazaar co-production market, Kathleen Drumm, Screen Australia’s Head of Marketing, and producers Lauren Edwards and Robyn Kershaw will deliver a session on doing business with Australia including two case studies of The Sapphires and Save Your Legs!, which was shot in Melbourne, Australia, and Kolkata, Varanasi and Mumbai, India.
Screen Australia’s participation in the Film Bazaar is part of Oz Fest, an initiative from the Australian Government to build relations and explore opportunities with India. Oz Fest is the biggest Australian cultural festival ever staged in India showcasing a series of activities and events across visual arts, design, architecture, film, TV, music, performing arts, publishing, software and digital content. It will travel to 18 cities across India and includes around 100 events from October 2012 to February 2013.
Working in conjunction with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Screen Australia also supported a delegation of Australian producers to attend FICCI Frames earlier this year (14–16 March 2012), the largest screen industry event in India covering film, broadcast (TV and radio), digital entertainment, animation, gaming and visual effects. Screen Australia also provided travel assistance to some key crew and cast to attend the premiere of Save Your Legs! at the Mumbai Film Festival (18–25 October 2012) and a function to celebrate the premieres of Save Your Legs! and The Sapphires.
Source: Screen Australia press release
