Utpal Borpujari

German director Fatih Akin will be the major attraction at the Film Bazaar 2010, the market section of the 41st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa (Nov 22-Dec2, 2010). He will participate in the Masterclass programme of the market that is organized by the Government of India agency, the National Film Development Corporation Ltd (NFDC)

This the 4th time that NFDC is organizing the Film Bazaar at the highly-popular beachfront tourist destination that became the permanent home of the earlier-travelling IFFI in 2003.

The Film Bazaar promises to buzz with activity during its existence from November 23 to 26. Some of the highlights of this year’s edition are:

1. Participation of the film fraternity from the SAARC (South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation) nations: The selected projects are - 

·         Afghanistan: Under The Red Line - Director: Diana Saqeb
·         Bhutan: Vara (The Boon) - Director: Khyentse Norbu
·         Nepal: Goodbye Katmandu - Director: Nabin Subba
·         Pakistan: Untitled - Mehreen Jabbar
·         Sri Lanka: Karma - Director: Prasanna Jayakody
·         Bangladesh: Tune of Silence - Director: Golam Rabbany Biplob &
                            Television - Director: Mostafa Sarwar Farooki

2. Meet the Festivals: This forum will have festival directors and representatives of various film festivals present to interact with the patrons. The following are expected to attend the Film Bazaar:

Christian Jeune  - Cannes Film Festival
Marco Mueller – Venice Film Festival
Bird Runningwater – Sundance Film Festival
Nadia Dresti – Locarno Film Festival
Nashen Moodley – Durban International Film Festival
Mimi Plauché - Chicago International Film Festival
Christina Marouda - IFFLA

3. Screenwriters Lab: Organized by the NFDC, Binger Filmlab of the Netherlands and the Locarno Film Festival, it is a 2-part screenwriters’ workshop for writing and selling original Indian screenplays, the first part of which was held at Locarno. The workshop will be conducted by Marten Rabarts, Artistic Director, Binger Filmlab, in association with some international guest mentors. After conducting a nationwide search the selection committee shortlisted 6 most promising screenplays. They are:

Shab by Onir
Into this World by Ben Rekhi
Untitle Seem's Story by Mashavi Purohit
D- end by Shlok Sharma
Lovely Insane by B.S. Vasan
Four Colours by Bikas Mishra

4. Co-production Market: This initiative undertaken by NFDC aims to offer selected filmmakers the opportunity to present their feature film projects (in all languages and at any stage of production) to co producers, bankers, funds, sales agents, distributors, TV stations and other potential financiers from India and abroad. All South Asian themed feature-length fiction film projects are eligible, provided they have the potential for co-producing with an international partner. NFDC has partnered with Moscow Co-production Forum. Under this alliance, each partner organization selects one project to take part in the Moscow Co Production Forum and in Film Bazaar in Goa. Director Alexandra Val’s ‘Good Luck with the Jacket’ has been selected under this initiative to come to Goa. A total of 19 projects have been selected for the co-production market, and some of these are :

a) Shanghai (Hindi): Director - Dibaker Banerjee / Producer - Priya Sreedharan
b) Urban Moon (Hindi, English): Director - Ani Thomas / Producer - Anurag Kashyap
c) Himmat Singh Ki Symphony (Hindi, English): Director - Vivek Agnihotri / Producer - Pallavi Joshi
d) Deool (Marathi): Director - Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni / Producer - Abhijeet Gholap

5. PrimeExchange: The main aim of PRIMEXCHANGE is to initiate market exchange and the exchange of ideas between India and Europe in the field of Film and TV Production. In order to develop sustainable cooperation between the two continents, the professional training program offers trans-national networking issues as well as potential market analysis for Film and TV Projects from the fields of script analysis, market research, financing/funding, distribution, world sales and games/interactive media, made by Indian and European film industry representatives as well. It is funded by the European Commission and will be implemented by German based Company PRIMEHOUSE GmbH in co-operation with NFDC.

6. Work in Progress Lab: The Work in Progress lab is held at Film Bazaar for feature films at a rough cut stage, whose makers are seeking feedback from experienced film professionals from the international community to better understand how their work will be received by the international market and maximise the potential of these in film festivals and international markets. Some films like The White Elephant (Hindi) directed by Aijaz Khan, Gabhricha Paus (Marathi) directed by Satish Manwar, As the River Flows by Bidyut Kotoky and Pairon Talle by Sidharth Srinivasan have been part of this section. This year the projects selected are:

Sahi Dhande Galat Bande (Hindi) - Director:  Parvin Dabbas
Baboo Band Baaja (Marathi) - Director:  Rajesh Pinjani
Tendulkar Out (Marathi)- Director:  Swapnil Jaykar
Karmayogi (Malyalam)- Director:  V.K.Prakash

7. Knowledge Series: NFDC Knowledge Series presents case studies and presentations by industry experts. They will impart their learning and understanding about a particular topic or sector concerning various aspects of film making. Industry veterans like Shyam Benegal, Mani Ratnam, Om Puri, Leslee Udwin, Dina Dattani have participated. This year Turkish-German Film maker, Fatih Akin will conduct a masterclass at Film Bazaar with an introdcution by Anurag Kashyap.

In 2009, about 350 delegates from 22 countries attended the Film Bazaar. Leading production houses like Balaji Telefilms, Vinod Chopra Productions, Walkwater Media Pvt. Ltd, Anurag Kashyap Films Pvt Ltd, Madras Talkies, Mirchi Movies Ltd, Maya Movies Pvt. Ltd, Santosh Sivan Productions, Pixion, Freshwater Films Pvt. Ltd, Alliance Media & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, Rose Audio Visuals Pvt. Ltd and many more had participated in the Co Production Market at the last year’s Film Bazaar edition in Goa.

Various international companies that attended last year were Fortissimo Films, Han Way Films, Goldcrest Films, Videovision Entertainment, Rapid Eye Movies, BBC Films, The Match Factory, Insomnia World Sales, and MDC International. Film bodies like the UK Film Council, Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Mauritius Film Development Corporation also had come.

This year prominent buyers and sales agents like Farabi Foundation (Iran), Cinetic Rights Management (USA), Fortissimo Films (UK), The Yellow Affair (Finland), Rapid Eye Movies (Germany), Wide Management (France), Railto, (Netherland), Hanway Films (UK) and Wild Bunch (France) have confirmed their presence at the market.