Mumbai’s 15th International Film Festival will take place on October 17-24 with Spain as the focus country this year. The Spain India Council Foundation has been actively collaborating for three years by funding Spanish film-makers so they can attend the festival, which attracts prominent Indian and international film stars every year.
As the focus country this year, Spain will be running two special promotional events. A sample of current Spanish cinema will be shown (‘New Spanish Cinema’), including the latest films by renowned Spanish film-makers like Isabel Coixet, Fernando Colomo and Daniel Calparsoro. Additionally, the section ‘Celebration of Spanish Cinema’ will cover a selection of films chosen by the Festival Director which offer a rundown of the history of Spanish cinema. The films screened in Mumbai will therefore include classics like ‘Viridiana’ and ‘Welcome Mr Marshall’ and more recent films like ‘The Sea Inside’ and ‘Lovers of the Arctic Circle’.
In addition to Spain’s official presence at Mumbai’s International Film Festival, the event will also provide a framework for meetings to be held between Spanish and Indian producers by virtue of the Audiovisual Cooperation Agreement signed by Spain and India during the King’s visit in October 2012. Those meetings will be organised by the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA), with the support of the Spain India Council Foundation and the Film & Television Producers Guild of India.
Susana de la Sierra, Managing Director of ICAA, will lead the Spanish delegation, offering Indian producers an insight into the characteristics of the Spanish market. The video ‘Shooting in Spain’, made by the Spain Film Commission together with the Secretariat of State for Culture, will also be screened.
Spain became very popular in India as a shooting location after the success of ‘Zindagi na Milegi Dobara’, which was filmed in the country. In fact, at last year’s festival, SICF’s Secretary General Manuel Cacho presented this film with the award for the Best Movie Shot Outside India. Last May, the President of the Film and Television Producers Guild of India, Mukesh Bhatt also visited Spain, at the initiative of the Spain India Council Foundation, ICAA and Casa de la India, with the support of the Spain Film Commission (SFC).
