One feature and TV series or documentary every 18 months.
By Prabhav Hiremath
MUMBAI: It is a well-known fact that India is the world’s leading nation in terms of total number of films being produced annually, which includes Bollywood, and regional cinema.
Taking this step further, Australia has decided to produce India-centric films every 18 months in a bid to boost India–Australia film relationship.
The plan will be executed through a dedicated fund called the Australian Indian Film Fund (AIFF), established by few Sydney-based Indian professionals. Their thought is to produce one Australian feature film and one TV series or a documentary in those 18 months on a regular basis.
The fund is led by an IT entrepreneur, Devendra Gupta and a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Yateendra Gupta. AIFF has signed Fox Studios-based films and casting temple on board as their screen content producer, a well-known Sydney based film producer and expert Anupam Sharma as their head of films. The production is estimated to amount worth millions of dollars.
Yateendra said, “That is where AIFF is clear about the importance of the balance between financial returns and cultural benefits. We want to nurture understanding between India and Australia through the films and documentaries we decide to fund.” He expressed his enthusiasm in launching this venture due to the presence of a number of professional Australian investors, the investor-friendly film space and the success rate of India-centric Western movies.
Sharma too, shared his views on being attached to this project. According to him, this is the right time to invest in Australian film industry’s niche projects. Such an initiative will add more value to Indian film industry in addition to being just a service provider, he said.
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