- ‘Manal’ among the 20 feature films awaiting world premiere
By Shailendree Wickrama Adittiya
Sri Lankan cinema has been enjoying its time in the international spotlight these past few months, winning awards at various film festivals, with the most recent being at the sixth Hanoi International Film Festival. Another noteworthy event is India’s National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) Film Bazaar, taking place from 20 to 24 November, which has selected Visakesa Chandrasekaram’s Manal for its Film Bazaar Recommends (FBR) list.
South Asia’s largest film market
Film Bazaar is seen as the largest South Asian film market, and it encourages creative and financial collaboration between the South Asian and international film communities.
Created and organised by India’s National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), Film Bazaar has evolved into South Asia’s global film market from its beginnings in 2007. Every edition witnesses increased national and international participation, and films such as Lunch Box, Margarita with a Straw, and Titli have been through one or more programmes of the Bazaar.
This is the 16th edition of the NFDC Film Bazaar, and the festival will take place at the Marriott Resort, Goa, after being held online for the last two years. One of the significant segments of the Film Bazaar is the Viewing Room, which presents films from India as well as the rest of South Asia, which are complete or in post-production.
These are films looking for film festivals, world sales, distribution partners, and finishing funds, and the Viewing Room connects film makers with film programmers, distributors, world sales agents and investors from around the world. The organisers state that these buyers can access details about the sellers or the filmmakers through a specially designed Viewing Room software from 21 to 24 November.
Film Bazaar Recommends
Manal is among the 247 films that will be available in the Viewing Room library, of which 170 are feature films, 18 are mid-length films, and 59 are short films. The Film Bazaar Recommends (FBR) list highlights 20 feature films, two mid-length films, and eight short films. Chandrasekaram’s movie is included in the FBR list.
Other feature film recommendations include Aattam by Anand Ekarshi (Malayalam), Agra by Kanu Behl (India-France, Hindi), Be Kucheye Khoshbakht by Sreemoyee Singh (Persian), Joram by Devashish Makhija (Hindi), and Mithya by Sumanth Bhat (Kannada).
Film Bazaar Recommends’ mid-length movies are Kunde by Ayappa K.M. (Kannada) and Silan by Ashmita Guha Neogi (India-France, Marathi), while the short films include Bimbam by Sai Prawin Thanigachalam (silent), Dil Dariya Khawab Samander by Tanvi Jadwani (Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati), and Perianayaki by Bala Murali Shingade (New Zealand/Tamil and English).
All the selections are awaiting their world premieres and the 30 selected films will have the opportunity to pitch to Bazaar delegates during the market.
Work-in-Progress Lab
The Bazaar has also chosen five projects for its Work-in-Progress Lab, which provides the selected filmmakers an opportunity to screen the rough cut of their films to a panel of international advisors. These include All India Rank by Varun Grover (Hindi), Bahadur by Diwa Shah (Nepali, Kumaoni, and Hindi), Dilli Dark by Dibakar Das Roy (Hindi), In the Belly of a Tiger by Siddartha Jatla (Hindi), and Mithya by Sumanth Bhat (Kannada).
Films from recent labs have gone on to win acclaim globally. They include Jaishankar Aryar’s Busan winner Shivamma, Natesh Hegde’s Pingyao and Nantes winner Pedro, Irfana Majumdar’s Locarno selection Shankar’s Fairies, Ajitpal Singh’s Sundance selection Fire in the Mountains, and Nitin Lukose’s Toronto selection Paka (River of Blood).
Meanwhile, Lab selections from 2019 and 2021 had the opportunity to pitch their trailers at the Cannes Film Market earlier this year.
“We have received a record number of submissions for the Viewing Room and Work-in-Progress Lab this year, which goes to show the immense faith that filmmakers across the region have on this platform to present their films – many of which are still in progress – in the best possible manner and enable business opportunities for their films,” NFDC Managing Director Ravinder Bhakar said.
Bhakar added: “By going strong during the pandemic with two very successful online editions, Film Bazaar has proven itself as the only option in the South Asian region for international film professionals looking to choose films for their film festivals and distribution.”
Other segments in the Film Bazaar programmes include Book Adaptations, where Indian publishers can pitch a selection of their books to internationally renowned producers, representatives of OTT platforms, sales agents and distributors, an extensive five-day producers’ workshop, and the Knowledge Series, consisting of specially curated presentations, lectures, and panel discussions.