Village Gamer

Telefilm Canada, the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC), the High Commission of Canada, New Delhi, the Consulate General of Canada, Mumbai and the Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA) are proud to activate the Audiovisual Coproduction Treaty with India, which came into effect in July 2014, with a delegation of 14 Canadian producers taking part in the 4th Forum of the Canada-India Business Council, November 17 to November 19 in Mumbai, and at the 8th Film Bazaar, November 20 to November 24 in Goa. At the same time as this mission is in progress, the 45th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), running November 20 to November 30, will present five Canadian films.

During the Festival, two Canadian directors, Mathieu Denis (Corbo) and Andrea Dorfman (Heartbeat) will be on hand to promote their films. The Canadian films Mommy by Xavier Dolan, Le règne de la beauté (An Eye for Beauty) by Denys Arcand and Maps to the Stars by David Cronenberg will also be shown.

The coproduction treaty between Canada and India, which came into effect this past summer, will become a concrete reality with this mission, whose express purpose is to develop relationships with India’s film industry and position Canada as a major player and key partner for coproduction.

The Canadian delegation will first attend the Canada-India Business Council Forum in Mumbai as part of a group of some 200 Canadian and Indian businesspeople. They will take part in a panel discussion entitled Activating the Canada-India Coproduction Treaty, and will have the opportunity to participate in numerous business to business networking opportunities organized with Indian film producers.

Canadian producers will then move on to Goa for the Film Bazaar, a major gathering for film industry development, distribution and production professionals. This has been a can’t-miss event for those with movie rights to buy or sell, and has fostered substantial trade between Southern Asia and various other countries since 2007.

Travelling with the delegation will be

• Sheila de La Varende, Director of International Promotion, Telefilm Canada
• Karen Thorne-Stone, President and CEO, OMDC
• Susanne Vaas, Vice-President, Business Affairs & Secretary Designate, CMPA

Among the producers are:

• Alfons Adetuyi, Inner City Films (Ontario)
• Paula Devonshire, Devonshire Productions (Ontario)
• Karen Franklin, Hill 100 Productions (Ontario)
• Ralph Holt, Hill 100 Productions (Ontario)
• Daniel Iron, Blue Ice Pictures (Ontario)
• Mehernaz Lentin, Industry Pictures (Ontario)
• David Miller, A71 Productions (Ontario)
• Damon D’Oliveira, Conquering Lion Pictures (Ontario)
• Rama Rau, Trinetra Productions (Ontario)
• Sergio Navarretta, Platinum Image Film (Ontario)
• Miranda de Pencier, Northwood Entertainment (Ontario)
• Kelly Balon, Karma Film (Saskatchewan)
• Anand Ramayya, Karma Film (Saskatchewan)
• Vic Sarin, Sepia Films (British Columbia)

Last but not least, Chris McDonald, President of Hot Docs, North America’s largest documentary festival, conference and market, will also take part in the Film Bazaar and IFFI in Goa, along with Telefilm and the OMDC. The Festival will showcase a Made In India program at its 2015 edition in order to celebrate the country’s contribution to contemporary documentary cinema. Taking place April 23 to May 3, 2015 in Toronto, Hot Docs will screen over 200 documentaries from around to world to audiences of over 192,000, and welcome more than 2000 industry delegates.