National Film Development Corporation’s Film Bazaar is the Gateway of cinema

Goa: 23 November 2024:( Ashok Palit) National Film Development Corporation’s (NFDC) Film Bazaar market has expanded into series development and attracted robust registrations ahead of its 2024 edition, running alongside the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa. The market has selected several series projects in its co-production market, following the introduction of an OTT [streaming] award at IFFI last year. “We had an overwhelming response, about 50 odd applications coming for the series,” Prithul Kumar, managing director of NFDC and joint secretary at India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, This year’s edition has brought on Jerome Paillard, who previously headed the Cannes Film Market, as an advisor. “He’s curated most of the things – he’s had a say on mentors, juries, and the guest list of important distributors, marketing agents and producers coming from across the world,” Kumar said. “His experience of Cannes helps, his relationships of getting the right people to the market and curating the projects in the right way is one of the biggest highlights this year market is actively courting producers from India’s regional film industries through roadshows across major cities including Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi, and Mumbai. “Indian content is traveling worldwide. Producers can negotiate deals for their existing projects to be marketed or distributed worldwide,” Kumar said, highlighting India’s co-production incentive of INR 300 million ($3.5 million) per project with 17 treaty countries..”  during the interactions with the press at the media center

Film Bazaar was initiated by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) in 2007 and has evolved alongside the prestigious International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa. It is a converging point for So and festival programmers for potential creative and financial collaboration. The 18th edition of the Film Bazaar @IFFI 2024 is now held at the Marriott Resort. Film Bazaar will run from November 20 to 24, offering a dynamic platform for filmmakers and industry professionals to connect, collaborate, and showcase their work.

Film Bazaar is a converging point for South Asian and international filmmakers and film producers, sales agents, and festival programmers for potential creative and financial collaboration. Over 5 days, the festival focuses on discovering, supporting, and showcasing South Asian content and talent in filmmaking, production, and distribution. The Bazaar also encourages the sales of world cinema in the South Asian region. Over the years, films such as Lunch Box, Margarita With A Straw, Chauthi Koot, Qissa, Ship of Theseus, Titli, Court, Anhe Ghode Da Daan, Miss Lovely, Dum Lagake Haisha, Liar’s Dice and Thithi have been through one or more programs of the Bazaar.

This year, the Viewing Room returns to the Marriott Resort, featuring an enriched lineup of good-quality films from India and South Asia. Designed as a crucial hub for filmmakers seeking distribution and funding, the Viewing Room will showcase films that are complete or in the post-production stage, allowing them to connect with global film programmers, distributors, sales agents, and investors. The Viewing Room will be accessible from November 21 to 24.

Running time of less than 30 minutes will be in the Short Films category. 208 films will be available for viewing at this year’s edition of the Viewing Room Library of which 145 are feature films, 23 are mid-length films, 30 are short films. The overall lineup of features and mid-length also includes twelve titles of NFDC-produced and co-produced films and adds 10 restored classics from the bouquet of NFDC-NFAI. The films with a running time between 30-70 minutes that are submitted to the Viewing Room are showcased in a category called Mid-Length Films.

The Film Bazaar Recommends (FBR) list curates and highlights 27 projects consisting of 19 feature films, 3 mid-length films, 2 short films, and 3 restored classics out of the entire mix.

Prithul Kumar, Managing Director of NFDC, says “we are thrilled to announce the selections for the FBR, which celebrate the creativity and passion of filmmakers. This initiative is not just about recognition; it’s about empowering storytellers to share their visions with the world. We believe in the transformative power of film and are committed to supporting the next generation of artists as they inspire and entertain.”

Selected projects from the FBR will have the opportunity to pitch their films to industry leaders, including producers, sales agents, distributors, festival programmers, and potential investors during an open pitching session at Film Bazaar. These Projects selected for the FBR section of feature, mid-length, and short filmmakers from the Viewing Room will pitch their films to producers, sales agents, distributors, festival programmers, and potential investors in an open pitching session during Film Bazaar in Goa.