Information and Broadcasting Minister Inaugurates 17th Edition of 'Film Bazaar' at the 54th International Film Festival of India

The 17th edition of the 'Film Bazaar' was inaugurated by the Information and Broadcasting Minister, Shri Anurag Thakur, during the opening ceremony of the 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) at the Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium in Panaji, Goa. Simultaneously, the minister also inaugurated the 17th edition of South Asia's largest 'Film Bazaar' at the Mariott Resort in Goa.

During the event, Minister Thakur highlighted that the Film Bazaar serves as a hub for filmmakers, producers, and storytellers worldwide, functioning like a bustling marketplace of ideas and inspirations. He emphasized the convergence of creativity, business, thoughts, and motivations that form the foundation of the thriving cinematic market.

The International Film Festival of India, spanning from November 20th to November 28th, showcased the opening ceremony attended by central figures like Minister Anurag Thakur. He stated that India's media and entertainment industry, growing at an annual rate of 20%, stands as the world's fifth-largest and globally influential sector. Minister Thakur noted that Film Bazaar has evolved into one of Asia's largest film markets, connecting local filmmakers with global producers and distributors.

Speaking about the co-production market, Minister Thakur said, "We are proudly presenting 12 films from 7 countries in the co-production market, exploring life in 17 different languages. It is a beautiful journey of aesthetics and love for filmmakers." He further announced that the Work-in-Progress Lab has doubled the number of projects this year, presenting 10 projects for unveiling.

Additionally, a new element, the 'Book to Box Office' pavilion, has been introduced to facilitate the journey of projects from books to screens. Minister Thakur explained that this pavilion would showcase 59 projects without any hindrance, promoting the presentation of projects with potential without the traditional barriers.

The 54th IFFI's Film Bazaar is presenting 10 recommended films in various genres such as documentary, horror, climate crisis, and fiction, in languages including English, Hindi, Bengali, Marwari, Kannada, and Maori. These films will be displayed to international and Indian filmmakers, distributors, festival programmers, financiers, and sales agents during the festival.

In addition to the festival's events, Minister Thakur inaugurated the Google Arts and Culture Hindi Showcase, an online center featuring images and short videos of Hindi films. The showcase aims to celebrate the cinematic contributions of Bollywood.

The opening ceremony witnessed the presence of various Bollywood stars, including Sunny Deol, Madhuri Dixit, Vijay Sethupathi, Shahid Kapoor, Shriya Saran, Divya Dutta, Shreya Ghoshal, Karan Johar, Sanjay Mishra, Karan Johar, Nushrat Bharucha, Pankaj Tripathi, Shantanu Moitra, and Sukhwinder Singh. Goa Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant was also present.

The 54th International Film Festival of India is showcasing over 250 films in various sections until November 28th at Cinema Hall, Inox Multiplex, and the Open Grounds within the Entertainment Society of Goa premises along the Mandovi River in Panaji. The festival will host renowned personalities such as Hollywood actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, Salman Khan, A R Rahman, Anupam Kher, Vicky Kaushal, Siddharth Malhotra, Vidya Balan, Aditi Rao Hydari, and Nina Gupta, among others, in the coming days.