The chief operating officer of Film France, the official film division of the French Government, Franck Priot, who was in the city recently, invited filmmakers to shoot films in France. “We are looking forward to having more filmmakers from Tamil Nadu to shoot on the streets of Paris and other locations,” he said. Franck said the filmmakers will not be charged to shoot their films, and that the French Government has decided to offer a number of other services too free of charge — such as finding the right local production managers to help the film crew, helping with preliminary location scouting etc.
Why is Film France focussing specifically on this market? “Tamil films do good business there. Films such as Billa 2 and 7 Aam Arivu did good business, and there is enormous potential. We are also focussing on China, a booming film market,” he says.
The connecting link
He contends that shooting in France may be advantageous — “a lot of the Tamils have assimilated into French society, and Tamil films act as the only connection between the second-generation Tamils and their culture and language,” he observes. “Also, if stars such as Ajith, Vijay and Suriya have their film premieres in France, it will be huge as they have a great fan following there,” he says.
What does he think of Indian directors he has interacted with while they were shooting in France? “I am quite impressed with the way your directors adapt quickly to the rules and regulations of our country and obtain such high quality visuals in such a short period of time.”
(Franck Priot was in the city to inaugurate Mont Blanc In Painting — An Ode To France , an exhibition of creations by A.P. Shreethar. It is on at Art Houz, No. 41, Kasturi Ranga Road, Alwarpet till July 19. For details, call 2499-2173)
