NFDC Film Bazaar 2015 teaser featuring path-breaking films that began their journey at Film Bazaar released on October 22, 2015.

The award-winning and acclaimed films, Ritesh Batra’s Lunchbox, Chaitanya Tamhane’s Court, Kanu Behl’s Titli, Sharat Katariya’s Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Anand Gandhi’s Ship of Theseus, Avinash Arun’s Killa, Ashim Ahluwalia’s Miss Lovely, were selected in the various sections of the Film Bazaar in its previous editions.

Please see below the list of acclaimed films that began their journey at the NFDC Film Bazaar.

1). Ritesh Batra’s Lunchbox – Screenwriters Lab, 2011
Theatrical India Release- 20 September 2013

The Lunchbox has been showcased in various film festivals including The Cannes Film Festival, The Telluride Film Festival, The Toronto Film Festival and The London Film Festival etc.

It has won various awards like Viewers Choice Award at the International Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival, Best Film at The London Film Festival. It also won the Best First Feature Award in 2014 by Toronto Film Critics Association and was nominated for the ‘Film Not in the English Language’ category of the BAFTA awards.

It became the first Indian film to be declared the highest-grossing foreign language film of the year in the US, Europe and Australia/New Zealand. The film has grossed upwards of 25 million USD (160 crores) worldwide.

2). Chaitanya Tamhane’s Court – Co-Production Market, 2012
Theatrical India Release- 17 April 2015

Premiered at the 71st Venice International Film Festival and won the Best Film Award in the Horizons category and the Luigi De Laurentiis (Lion Of The Future) award. It won 18 top awards at various prestigious international film festivals worldwide.

India’s official submission for the 88th Annual Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category, 2016

3). Anand Gandhi’s Ship of Theseus – Progress Lab, 2011
Theatrical India Release- 19 July 2013

Premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2012 and has subsequently been screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival, the BFI London Film Festival, the Dubai International Film Festival, the Brisbane International Film Festival, the Rotterdam International Film Festival and the Hong Kong International Film Festival 2013.

Best Feature Film award at the 61st National Film Awards, 2013

4). Avinash Arun’s Killa – Work-In-Progress Lab, 2013
Theatrical India Release- 26 June 2015

Premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival 2014 and won the prestigious Crystal Bear for Best Film in Generation Kplus

Best Feature Film in Marathi at the 62nd National Film Awards, 2014

5). Sharat Katariya’s Dum Laga Ke Haisha – Screenwriters Lab, 2011
Theatrical India Release- 27 February 2015

Produced by Yash Raj Films, the film was critically acclaimed and a box office success. The film celebrated 50 days of its theatrical run on 16 April 2015.

6). Kanu Behl’s Titli – Screenwriters Lab & Co-Production Market, 2012 and Work in Progress Lab, 2013
Theatrical India Release- 30 October 2015

Titli was premiered at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival and it was nominated for Caméra d’Or at Cannes.

7). Ashim Ahluwalia’s Miss Lovely- Co-Production Market, 2008 and Work in Progress Lab, 2011
Theatrical India Release- 17 January 2014

Premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival in Un Certain Regard section.

National Film Award – Special Jury Award (Feature film) and Best Production Design at the 61st National Film Awards.

8). Anup Singh’s Qissa: The Tale of a Lonely Ghost- Co-Production Market, 2008
Theatrical India Release- 20 February 20 14

An international co-production between India, Germany, Netherlands and France.

Premiered at Toronto International Film Festival 2013 and won NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film there.

Won Silver Gateway Award in India Gold at Mumbai Film Festival 2013

9). Gyan Correa’s Good Road- Screenwriters Lab 2008, Work-in-Progress Lab, 2011
Theatrical India Release- 19 July 2013

The film won the Best Gujarati film award at the 60th National Film Awards.

The Film was also India’s Official Entry for Foreign Language Category at 86th Academy Award, 2014

The first Gujarati film ever selected to represent India at the Oscars.

10). Ajay Bahl’s BA Pass- Work-in-Progress Lab, 2011
Theatrical India Release- 2 August 2013.

The film won two awards, Best Film Award and the Best Actor Award at the 2012 Osian’s Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema.
Won 2014 Filmfare Awards and Screen Awards for the Best Actress (Shilpa Shukla)

The film was critically acclaimed and a Box-office hit.

11). Geetu Mohandas’s Liar’s Dice – Co-Production Market 2011
Initial India Release: 5 October 2013

The film had its world premiere at the Mumbai Film Festival in October 2013, where it took part in the Indian competition section. In January 2014, the film was screened at the Sundance Film Festival and International Film Festival Rotterdam. It won a special jury award at Sofia International Film Festival.

It won two National Film Awards including, Best Actress and Best Cinematography at the 61st National Film Awards.

The film was India’s Official Entry for the Best Foreign Language Film for the 87th Academy Awards, 2015.

12). Shonali Bose’ Margarita With A Straw- Work in Progress Lab 2013
Theatrical India Release- 17 April 2015

Premiered at 2014 Toronto International Film Festival and there it won the NETPAC award for the Best Asian Film.

Nina Lath Gupta, Managing Director NFDC says, “ In the past eight years, since Film Bazaar was set up in 2007, we have seen a gradual and steady transition of the Cinemas of India to an ever-expansive landscape of diverse storytelling and unprecedented international visibility. We are delighted that much of this was, in no small measure, due to the NFDC Film Bazaar and look to fulfilling our agenda of promoting the growth of the sector in this year’s edition as well.”

Quotes from the filmmakers:

“It was at the 2012 edition of Film Bazaar, where we met Paolo Bertolin from the Venice Film Festival. He tracked the development of Court for nearly two years and the film was eventually selected for Venice. Film Bazaar is an invaluable platform for Indian filmmakers to connect with international film programmers, producers, sales agents, and other industry professionals. The event can be an eye-opener for emerging independent filmmakers who wish to expand the reach of their films” – Chaitanya Tamhane

“It was such a great learning experience for me to have KILLA, my first feature film in Work-In-Progress lab at the Film Bazaar in 2013. It opened my worldview about film festivals and film markets around. Filmmaking is a director and producer’s medium together and it was great to meet some passionate people around the globe who think alike. Since my experience with Killa was so fruitful, I am also going to take my next film to the Film Bazaar.”– Avinash Arun

“Film Bazaar was one of the first to believe in Miss Lovely, and without their early support we would have had a much harder time getting it made. This was before any Indian independent film had really made a mark internationally. It was a very difficult time for us. Today, of course, the situation is very different, and very exciting. Mainly due to the support of Film Bazaar, we now have a vibrant new Indian cinema, with our films shining at every major festival. Indian independent filmmakers have never had it this good, and much of it is thanks to these guys.” – Ashim Ahluwalia

“The screenwriter’s lab helped me churn what’s inside me. It pushed me to question, debate, re-evaluate and experience the same screenplay on a wholly different plane. An enriching process, one that I wish I, and all other serious screenwriter’s could go through every time before dishing out those final drafts!” – Kanu Behl

“If there was no Film Bazaar, there would have been no DLKH. I will never forget, how Urmi pushed me to dig deeper into my own material and Massino who instilled faith in me, that simplicity is what makes this script special.
As a writer, you work in isolation, and you have comfort in your process but screenwriting has helped me open up and go beyond the instinctive amateur writer that I’m.” – Sharat Katariya