It’s any filmmaker’s dream to spend a few days with international filmmakers, producers, festival programmers as they come up with marketing strategies, brainstorm story ideas and suggest new film-viewing technologies. And, that’s exactly what the 10th edition of the Film Bazaar (FB) in Goa offers.
Like every year, there will be panel discussions and knowledge series workshops with eminent film professionals. A workshop named ‘Women Protagonists in Indian Filmscape’ will discuss a shift in Indian cinema narrative in addressing its women characters. This session features Shoojit Sircar, Tannishtha Chatterjee and Vani Tripathi Tikoo. “This year, women-centric films such as Pink and Piku have not only garnered critical attention, but have also done well at the box office,” says Manas Malhotra, the co-director of Film Bazaar.
Regional cinema is given more focus. “We are often blamed for being too Bollywood-centric. But, that’s not the case. We have always given thrust to regional cinema. We are having a session with Nagraj Manjule, the filmmaker of Sairat and Fandry , Bhaskar Hazarika, director of Assamese film Kothanodi, and Raam Reddy of (Kannada movie) Thithi fame. Regional cinema is a lot more rooted than Hindi cinema.”
However, the icing on the cake is a session with Philip Lee, who has been involved with Cloud Atlas , The Dark Knight and The Revenant . Manas, who has worked with the producer, says Lee has worked across cultures. “He could give us an insight on making big productions. And, share with us his experience of working with masters like Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.” As always, FB wants to encourage upcoming and low-budget filmmakers. Directors will present their rough cuts at Work-in-Progress labs and get a chance to work with international editors. Seven WIP Lab projects have been selected out of 58 entries.
As part of the Producer’s Lab, producers get a chance to network with experts from the industries. “There will be Round Table sessions, where seven tables, consisting of seven producers each, will speak to one expert from the industry. This is a much more intimate space. People who are not comfortable asking questions during the bigger sessions will open up better.” The co-production market is a much sought-after platform for South Asian filmmakers to find funding, collaborators and support. They have introduced video pitching in the Open Pitch category. They are also calling officials from State Tourism and Country Film Commissions from across the world. “The filmmakers can reach out to these people and set up meetings to discuss incentives and location details.” FB has also partnered with OLFFI, the largest database of funding for films all over the world. The directors get a chance to know about public funding opportunities for their films.
The Viewing Room is another platform for prospective producers, sales agents, festival programmers and filmmakers to join hands. “Around 30 people will be watching 30 different films in the same room. They can pause, forward or shift to the next film according to their wish. If they like a film, they can send an email to the filmmaker. They could also meet and discuss the film later.” Like last year, Film Bazaar will give priority to the latest technological updates in the film field. There will be a Virtual Reality Sidebar, where people can experience a much more immersive film viewing through personalised screens. “It will be interesting to know how virtual technology is changing the storytelling in cinema. It has already changed the gaming scene drastically,” says Manas.
FB has also called professionals from Google, Facebook and YouTube for their Knowledge Series sessions. “These have turned out to be major platforms for film promotion. At a time when filmmakers are investing five to ten crores on just film promotion, it makes sense to address these spaces that are cheaper than traditional media.”
(Spot registrations on November 20, and the market officially opens on November 21.
For details, visit www.filmbazaarindia.com.)
