IFFI 2023: India welcomes ratification of co-production treaty by Australia

Australia India Film Council cannot wait to work with our board and members to facilitate more Australian stories related to India, he said.

Australia has ratified the co-production treaty with India, a move being celebrated at the NFDC Film Bazaar and the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) through various panel discussions and events here.

The two countries had recently signed an audio-visual co-production agreement that seeks to offer filmmakers financial incentives up to 30 per cent of the expenditure incurred in the respective countries.

Australia is the 16th country with which India has a co-production agreement that would benefit small filmmakers keen on shooting movies, web series, advertisements or carrying out post-production work or visual effects in that country.

An Australian delegation is taking part in the 54th edition of the IFFI, which will also host the international premiere of ''Brand Bollywood Downunder'', a feature documentary on film links between Australia and India.

''As the Hon'ble Minister Anurag Thakur announced at the opening ceremony of IFFI, we have now made our subsidies for foreign filming in India very lucrative and one of the best in the world with a single-window clearance,'' Prithul Kumar, MD, NFDC and the festival director, said in a statement.

''This, combined with an official co-production treaty, will make an Australian Indian co-production very appealing both creatively and commercially. The government of India is looking forward to supporting and facilitating more Australian Indian films,'' he added.

Vani Tripathi Tikoo, eminent film personality and member of the censor board, said she looks forward to supporting and being part of exciting Australian-Indian stories on screens.

''I was delighted to be part of panels about Australia India at Cannes, so now it is very encouraging to see it all come together with an active co-production treaty,'' she added.

Anupam Sharma, filmmaker and chair of Australia India Film Council, has directed ''Brand Bollywood Downunder'', which is having its international premiere as part of The World Section at the IFFI. ''This is a huge boost to over USD 50 million worth of India-centric Australian screen content, most of which has received development investment from Australian film agencies, Australian distributors like forum and private investors from India, UK, Australia, and USA. Australia India Film Council cannot wait to work with our board and members to facilitate more Australian stories related to India,'' he said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)