Indian films headed for Oscars to get financial aid

Union information and broadcasting minister M Venkaiah Naidu announced today at a press conference for the 47th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) starting later this month that Indian films representing the country abroad at festivals such as Cannes and Venice or at the Oscars will be given financial aid for promotions.

According to the new initiative, any film selected for the Oscars will be provided a fund of Rs50 lakh to Rs1 crore. If a film is in the 'In Competition' section at Cannes, the maximum amount it can receive is Rs20 lakh while those featuring in the 'Un Certain Regard' and 'Director's Fortnight' would receive Rs15 lakh each.

Films that go to the 'In Competition' section of Venice would also receive Rs15 lakh. Meanwhile, Indian films competing at the Toronto International Film Festival and at the Busan International Film Festival’s new currents section would get up to Rs10 lakh each. For Busan’s Asian Cinema section, the amount would be Rs7.50 lakh, the same as if the film went to the Locarno festival.

This year, the Tamil film, Visaranai, has been chosen as India’s official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 89th Academy Awards which will take place next February. IFFI begins on 20 November in Goa with around 190 film from 88 countries that will be screened at the festival.