I&B Secretary Bimal Julka leads Indian delegation to Toronto International Film Festival

The visit of the delegation assumes importance in the light of India and Canada having signed an Audio-Visual Co-Production Agreement recently. 

 

The Secretary is leading the delegation at the festival from  Sept 6th-9th.

 

The recently signed agreement between the two countries enables Indian and Canadian film producers to collaborate on various facets of film making. 

 

It also provides the platform of engagement between the critical stakeholders of the film industry of both countries. The visit of the delegation to Toronto will also explore the possibilities of pooling creative, artistic, technical, financial and marketing resources for co-production. It gives an opportunity to showcase India’s ‘Soft Power’ across the globe. 

 

The delegation’s visit is expected to chart out a roadmap for funding of Co production agreements in future and boost the export of Indian films across film markets including the Canadian Market. The visit is also expected to apprise stakeholders on the progress achieved so far in expediting the single window clearance mechanism in India. 

 

During the visit, the delegation will be discussing policy and institutional collaboration issues with a variety of critical stakeholders from both the Global and Canadian film industry. 

 

Bimal Julka will also be holding significant discussions with Telefilm Canada as a step towards further cementing Indo-Canadian relations in film co-production. Telefilm Canada has played a key role in finalization of Indo-Canadian Audio Visual Co-Production Agreement.Telefilm Canada is an industry partner in numerous festivals and promotes creative filmmakers. Since 1976, it has also managed co-production agreements on behalf of the Canadian government. The meeting with Tele Canada today is expected to chart out the road-ahead for the next steps on the AV agreement. 

 

The Secretary will also be meeting David Carey, Director, TIFF to discuss issues related to the the participation of Indian films at the Toronto film festival. 

 

Julka is expected to apprise Carey on the policy frame work undertaken to promote India’s participation at international film festivals and the initiatives to brand IFFI as a platform for participation of foreign films during the festival. 

 

The meeting also assumes significance as “ Mary Kom’ was the opening film for the festival. Five Indian films have been selected for TIFF this year. 

 

 Julka will also be meeting the members of the India Canada Business Council. The interaction is important as the fast tracking of the next steps on the AV agreement would be discussed in detail in view of opportunities, partnerships and deliverables. 

 

The Secretary will also have extensive deliberations with National Film Board, Toronto. 

 

The NFB is considered one of the world’s most creative laboratories and is the public producer and distributor of films in Canada. The meeting is expected to discuss issues related to Marketing and distribution strategies, Digital distribution, cooperation in audio video sector and co production opportunities. 

 

Julka will also be participating in the Asian Film Summit being held at Toronto. The summit is important as it provides a platform to discuss issues related to the Asian film industry, the achievements at the global film forum.