Toronto: As a political and diplomatic thaw in the relationship between New Delhi and Ottawa is taking shape, it will also translate to renewal of cinematic ties between the two countries with Canada to have a significant presence at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa in November.
A meeting at the Bharat Pavilion which included the head of the Indian delegation Ajay Nagabhushan (first from left), India’s Acting Consul General in Toronto Kapidhwaja Pratap Singh (centre) and TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey (second from right). (Credit: Consulate General of India, Toronto)
Discussions during the ongoing Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) led to the decision to upgrade Canada as a joint point of focus for the Goa event. Ajay Nagabhushan, Joint Secretary (Films) with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, who led the Indian delegation to TIFF, said, “Last year, we had good participation from Canada. This year we wanted to make it bigger than Canada.”
Japan will be the focus country for the Indian film festival.
Among those who have confirmed attending IFFI is TIFF’s CEO Cameron Bailey, who is expected to bring a delegation from the festival.
The Indian delegation also held meetings at the large Bharat Pavilion located in TIFF’s Industry Center. “After Cannes, TIFF is the next big film festival. We’ve always participated at TIFF in a big way and this year, the number of Indian films is the highest. They have selected 17 films,” Nagabhushan said. That number included the official selection of five Indian features and the serial Gandhi, along with those screening in the MarketPlace section.
Other than interactions with Canadian counterparts, the Indian contingent met with delegates from other countries. Among those was a delegation from New Zealand, which is planning an Indian international film festival in Wellington next year, according to Nagabhushan.
The Bharat Pavilion highlighted WAVES Bazaar, “India’s first global e-marketplace for film, television, streaming, gaming, animation and AVGC-XR, conceived as a one-stop platform connecting creators, producers, and buyers worldwide. Discussions focused on charting new avenues for international industry collaboration,” according to India’s Consulate General in Toronto.
A day-long WAVES Bazaar event was also organised in Toronto on the sidelines of the festival. It introduced a Women in Films vertical for the initiative launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019. Six young women filmmakers were sponsored by the government to bring their projects to TIFF and present them before potential backers.
