Incentives for foreign films and co-production raised up to 40%, says Anurag Thakur

To attract filmmakers from across the globe and encourage film shooting in India, Anurag Singh Thakur announced an increase in the incentive being offered for foreign film productions. A foreign film or co-production with India will now be able to claim up to 40 percent of the expenditure incurred with the maximum limit capped at Rs 30 crore. An additional five percent bonus will be given for ‘significant Indian content’.

“There was a need for a higher incentive to attract medium and big-budget international projects. This paradigm shift in incentivizing film production serves as a testament to India’s commitment and support for artistic expression and reinforces our position as a preferred destination for cinematic endeavors,” said Thakur.

Last year in May, the Centre introduced the incentives scheme offering a reimbursement of up to 30 percent of the expenses incurred in India capped at Rs 2.5 crore.

On the occasion, Anurag Singh Thakur said that Indian media & entertainment industry, with an annual growth rate of 20%, is hailed as the fifth-largest and most globalized industry in the world. In its 17th year, the Film Bazaar has become an indispensable cornerstone of the IFFI, transcending borders and evolving into one of Asia’s biggest film markets, the minister added.

Union Minister informed that this year, the selection of films for the Film Bazaar reflects a diverse mix of fiction, docu-shorts, documentaries, horror films, and even an animated film that deals with universal themes relating to the diaspora, patriarchy, urban angst, extreme poverty, climate crisis, nationalism, sports and fitness.

Speaking of the co-production market, the Minister said “We proudly present 12 documentaries from 7 countries in the Coproduction Market, exploring life in 17 different languages. It’s a journey into the heart of reality through the lens of filmmakers.”

He also said that the video library platform, the Viewing Room, shows 190 submissions, a few submissions from which will be selected for the Film Bazaar Recommends (FBR). “The Work-in-Progress Lab is where filmmakers show the raw beauty of their work. Doubling the project count from last year, we have 10 projects ready to unveil this year,” the Minister said.

Shri Thakur also announced that as a nod to innovation and in line with the Prime Minister’s call for ease of doing business, an exciting new component, “Book to Box Office,” has been added which will showcase 59 submissions seamlessly making the jump from books to screens. In the sidelines of the event, the Minister also inaugurated Google Arts and Culture Hindi exhibit which is an online hub having images and short videos from Hindi films.

The 10 recommended films from a variety of genres to be showcased in Film Bazaar at IFFI 54TH including documentary, horror, climate crisis, fiction etc. The films are in English, Hindi, Bengali, Marwari, Kannada, and Maori (New Zealand language).  This year, the Film Bazaar has a newly curated “VFX & Tech Pavilion” which intends to make the filmmakers aware of the latest innovations, to explore the possibilities of storytelling by not just the traditional way of “taking the shot”, but also “creating the shot”.

The Film Bazaar showcases the official selection of the feature-length projects of the Co-Production Market from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, USA, UK, Singapore, Germany, France, Poland, Luxembourg and Israel. The selected filmmakers will be pitching their projects to International and Indian producers, distributors, festival programmers, financiers, and sales agents at the open Pitch.

Initiated by National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), Film Bazaar has evolved into South Asia’s largest film market, connecting local film makers to the global producers and distributors.