CANNES: It’s sunny and very warm in Cannes on the French Riviera. But inside the famed Palais des Festivals the Indian pavilion put up by the Service Exports Promotion Council (SEPC) along with the ministry of information & broadcasting (MIB) and the ministry of commerce & industry is a hustle-bustle of activity.
It’s almost 9:30 am in the morning and the clock is counting down the minutes as Prasar Bharti CEO Gaurav Dwivedi, Telangana special chief secretary of the industries & commerce (I&C) and information technology (IT) Jayesh Ranjan, counsel general of India in the Indian consulate in Marsielles Rupjyoti Brahma Karjee, SEPC chairman Karan Rathore and director general Abhay Sinha are all geared up to inaugurate the pavilion which is the watering hole for many Indians who have come together to attend the largest and most successful content trading and co-production market globally.
Once the signal is given the four of them cut the ribbon and cheers go around celebrating India’s largest ever presence and pavilion at Mipcom. Close to 235 Indian delegates from 70 or more companies and independent creative professionals have signed up with RX – the organiser of Mipcom – to boost India’s content trade with the world.
“We are delighted to build the platform – with the support of the two ministries - for India’s independent animation and VFX studios, film and TV producers and distribution companies, and media and entertainment service providers at this very vibrant market,” says Sinha. “The MIB’s message is very clear: create in India and make it the content hub of the world. Our role to help achieve that goal and, If possible, crunch the time frame required to get there .”
It is Dwivedi’s first visit to Mipcom and he’s quite gung-ho about the opportunities it provides for the pubcaster to get connected with other public broadcasters, expose DD India, the English news channel, which provides an India view on global and Indian developments to the world. Finally, he is also looking at acquiring all genres of content from domestic Indian content owners and international producers and distributors in preparation for DD’s OTT service which is slated to start streaming next month.
The Indian pavilion is also home to Telangana and Karnataka states. The former is promoting its image tower for the AVGC sector, inviting international companies to come and invest in the state, and to it’s annual gathering of the AVGC confab India Joy. The latter is promoting Karnataka’s AVGC Centre of Excellence and its annual event Bangalore GAFX.
55 other companies registered for Mipcom are also using it as a meeting place with their international clients with who they have either distribution, coproduction, or acquisition relationship.
While the Indian presence is marked by veterans and seasoned animation studio professionals, the youngest exhibitor on the pavilion is 19 year old animation student in Paris Joyce Ahuja who has come armed with all her art work and a small teaser for her animation feature film.
“Mipcom is an awesome place and I am glad to have made up my mind to attend and get feedback on my project so I can make it even more appealing globally,” she says, her eyes gleaming with excitement, despite her aching legs. She has the confidence that her project will attract the right fund providers and partners to help it get off the ground.
