NFDC Film Bazaar 2019: Union minister Prakash Javadekar opens 13th edition

The 13th edition of National Film Development Corporation’s (NFDC) Film Bazaar was declared open by Prakash Javadekar, the union minister of information and broadcasting. Goa's chief minister Pramod Sawant, minister of state for environment, forest and climate change Babul Supriyo, Central Board of Film Certification chairman Prasoon Joshi, and Amit Khare, secretary in the I & B ministry were present at the inauguration. 

Talking about the importance of the film industry, Javadekar said, "Indian films are the soft power of our country and Film Bazaar will ensure that our films get a proper exposure and market internationally."

The minister highlighted the growing importance of the Bazaar and added, “This year even before the Film Bazaar has started, there are already more than 1,000 registrations including writers, directors, distributors and other industry participants, from places as far as Argentina."

The inauguration was accompanied by the launch of a promotional film on NFDC’s film facilitation office. The film highlighted the range of international films shot in India as well as the new initiative of a single window clearance. 

Over the years, the Bazaar has evolved into a one-stop shop for filmmakers, producers, sales agents, distributors, film festival programmers and financiers from around the world; a marketplace that encourages collaboration between the South Asian and international films. The Bazaar also presents the Knowledge Series which deals with specially curated presentations, panel discussions and lectures by filmmakers, producers, top executives of film organizations involved in content production, aggregation and distribution.

This year, Prasoon Joshi and producer Siddharth Roy Kapur will be assessing ways to empower the youth with skill development in one of the panels, while Vani Tripathi Tikoo will be in discussion with Shobu Yarlagadda, producer of the Baahubali films and filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj on cinema inspiring entrepreneurs.

Another engaging panel will have filmmakers Soundarya Rajinikanth and Nandita Roy amongst others discussing the changing role of women in Indian cinema, while film critic Anupama Chopra will be speaking to Josh Seigel, curator at The Museum of Modern Art in New York. Others industry participants on the various panels include actor Sanjay Suri, cinematographers Shanker Raman and Tapan Basu, screenwriters Atika Chohan, Kanika Dhillon, and filmmaker Sharat Katariya.   

The 13th edition is being held from 20 - 24 November at the Marriott Resort in Goa.