On the second day of the Film Tourism Symposium on November 22th, a session with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on the current guidelines for filming/shooting in different heritage sites/monuments that belong to the ASI and the existing ground realities in securing filming permissions at ASI sites. The session chaired by Sh. Shharat Sharma, Addl. Director General, ASI and Ms. Nina Lath Gupta, MD, NFDC, and attended by prominent filmmakers, line producers and international delegates to Film Bazaar, discussed how filming at ASI sites could become easier without impinging upon the principal concern of the ASI, especially with regard to protecting national monuments from damage.The session saw the participation of film industry delegates such as Anubhav Sinha, Prakash Jha, Sudhir Mishra, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Ramesh Sippy, Shyam Benegal, Bharat Bala, Madhur Bhandarkar, Vani Tripathi Tikoo  along with line producers Iqbal Kidwai ( French Indian film Un Plus Une, Monsoon Wedding, etc.), Pravesh Sahni (Slumdog Millionaire, Zero Dark Thirty, Mission: Impossibe –Ghost Protocol, etc.) ,Deborah Benattar and Jawed Wani  (La Fabrique Films), James Weyman (Ontario Media Development Corporation, Ruth Harley (New Zealand Film Commission), Michael Hendrix, a film producer from Germany, Krzyszt of Solek (Film Polska, Poland) and tourism delegates Har Sahay Meena (MD, Tamil Nadu Tourism), Khyati Nayak (Manager, Film Cell, Gujarat Tourism) and Sandesh Yashlaha (General Manager, MP Tourism).

The senior filmmakers attending the Film Symposium did a press meet where they spoke about the outcome of Symposium and their interaction with Secretory of I&B Shri Sunil Arora and Shri Vinod Zutshi Secretory of Tourism. Present at the meet were Prakash Jha, Anubhav Sinha, Shayam Benegal, Kabir Khan, Sudhir Mishra ,Ramesh Sippy, Bharat Bala,PraveshSahani and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra.Shri Sunil Arora, Secretary, Ministry of I&B and Nina Lath Gupta, Managing Director at NFDC met all the participants from all the three Screenwriters’ Lab. He discussed journey of all the writers who were part of the lab, various obstacles they have faced during the process and the way forward. Mridula Sinha, Governor of Goa attended the Film Bazaar today and watched the film, Dad Hold My Hand which is in the Industry Screenings.

The NFDC Knowledge Series had an interesting lineup with enchanting speakers covering various aspects of filmmaking. Kabir Khan’s session was on Traversing across Real Stories to Features with Stars. He shared his thoughts on how both worlds feed off each other, whether it’s a Kabul Express and its predecessors, the two part award winning Taliban documentaries and his documentary filming experiences in war zones. He also spoke of the glitterati of his filmography and his ‘crossing over in reverse’ films, the hugely entertaining and successful Salman Khan big budget star fares Ek Tha Tiger and Bajrangi Bhaijaan.“There is a human story behind every film I make”, says Kabir Khan.

With the focus on NFDC’s objective to promote India as a destination for filming, today’s Knowledge Series had two sessions on Film in India with state focus on Maharashtra and Chattisgarh. With State focus on Maharashtra, Sh. Sanjay Bhokre, MD, Maharashtra Film Stage and Cultural Development Corporation / Dadasaheb Phalke Chitra Nagari along with filmmaker Rohan Sippyspoke about shooting in Filmcity and other parts of Mumbai. Talking about his experience shooting in Mumbai, Rohan Sippy says, “We have shot extensively in Maharashtra and especially in Mumbai and for us this will always be the capital of entertainment.”Mr. Bhokresays, “We are focusing getting the single window clearance sorted not only for shooting in Mumbai but across Maharashtra.  We have also started working on the redevelopment of the Kolhapur ChitraNagari to support filming across Maharashtra easier.”

With State focus on Chattisgarh, Dr. Sanjay Singh, GM, Chattisgarh Tourism Board along with filmmaker and brand ambassador for the State, Anurag Basu discussed filming in Chattisgarh. “Being one the newest State’s in India not a lot of people know about this 15 year old State. Many filmmakers have come to our State and shot their films as we give complete support to them”, says Dr. Singh. Talking about his experience, Anurag Basu says, “I have lived most of my life there and I love shooting there not only because its home to me, it is also very culturally rich. As a filmmaker one has to explore locations yourself and the State is very supportive of filming here.”

Annette Brejner, Head of the Financing Forum For Kids Content along with Rajiv Chilaka, Creator, Chota Bheem hosted a session on Children’s Films and New markets. Driven by the notion that kids today are born into the digital world, the presentations and discussions in the session explored the creation of ‘Transmedia’ content.Deepti DCunha, Consultant & Curator of the Work In Progress Labs & Viewing Room moderated the Investors Pitch for projects in the Film Bazaar Recommends Section. Filmmakers, whose films were a part of this section, were given an opportunity to pitch for finishing funds for their films for gap financing and PNA funds.

Vaibhav Vishal, Chief Creative Officer, Eros Now and Nikhil Taneja, Head of Development, Y Films along with Rohan Sippy hosted a session on Digital India –Prime domains for content creation and monetization. This session was a sneak peek into how the web and mobile universe is gradually becoming the preferred destination for film promotions as well as content creation. While talking about the promotions of BajiraoMastani, Vaibhav Vishal says, “Everyone follows a template in promoting a film. With Bajirao Mastani, we right now have a brilliant example to give you- Blazing Bajirao. Even filmmakers like Sanjay Leela Bhansali and his Bajirao Mastani are opting for a specially designed animated web series which is doing brilliant.” Nikhil Taneja gave the attendees the example of Y Films’ recently released web-series Bang Baaja Baaraat and Man’s World. Being an independent filmmaker, Rohan Sippy completely supports the idea and believes that creative content can be sold anywhere and with the digital platform being available to everyone, filmmakers must utilize this extensively.

NFDC India’s Managing Director, Nina Lath Gupta says, “I am happy to see film collaborations taking place and meaningful interactions shaping up as a result of our initiatives.”