NEW DELHI: The Los Angeles India Film Council are in Mumbai to share global best practice on the topics of co-productions, tax incentives, building talent skills in media and entertainment and encouraging knowledge exchange as a session co-partner at the ongoing FICCI FRAMES 2013.
Set up in 2010 by a Joint Declaration between the City of Los Angeles and the Indian Film Industry, the Council has made significant progress forging partnerships between key stakeholders in the United States and India media and entertainment industries.
The Council is supporting key panel discussions at FICCI FRAMES: ‘Indian Studio Infrastructure – Are We Ready For The Next Century?’, `Skills in M & E – The Next Big Leap Towards Creating Greater Talent’, `Single Window Clearance: Making India Easier For Filmmakers’, and key policy roundtables.
Council members speaking at the key sessions include Frank Rittman – Senior Vice President, Regional Policy Officer and Deputy Managing Director, Asia-Pacific, Motion Picture Association (MPA), Catherine McDonnell - Head of Business and Legal Affairs, Fox Studios Australia, Uday Singh - Managing Director, Motion Picture Dist. Association (MPDA), India, Teri Schwartz - Dean, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, D.J.Narain - Director, Film and Television Institute of India and MPA’s member studio executives: Vijay Singh - Fox Star Studios, India and Vikram Malhotra – Viacom 18 Motion Pictures.
“The global media and entertainment industry today is faced with a number of significant challenges as it works to meet consumer expectations in the digital age,” said Frank Rittman – Senior Vice President, Regional Policy Officer and Deputy Managing Director, Asia-Pacific - MPA. “Our partnership with FRAMES 2013 provides an ideal platform to discuss world’s best practices across a range of policy and commercial areas, which I hope prove to be beneficial to the local industry here in India.”
Uday Singh, Managing Director, MPDA India, said, “The Council sessions are extremely pertinent for the cross pollination of ideas, best practices and talent between the film communities in India and Los Angeles. We are privileged to be associated with FICCI FRAMES, a global convention that continues to remain a leader in promoting the growth of the media and entertainment industry in India.”
Vijay Singh, CEO - Fox Star Studios India, said, “It is inevitable that film studios in India will need to evolve their infrastructure in order to be globally on par with the best in technology, creativity and talent. I encourage the LA India Film Council to continue playing a vital role in promoting knowledge exchange in this area which is the need of the hour.”
Added Vikram Malhotra, COO, Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, “The Council is making commendable efforts in sharing knowledge among the film communities of the two countries; India and USA. We look forward to a future where film making will transgress national boundaries and enrich the cultural quotient of the world.”
The Council is also participating in ‘Shoot At Site’, a one-day focused and interactive conclave and B2B platform on Film Tourism on 15 March 2013. Shoot at Site aims to bring together the entertainment and tourism industries under the same platform to promote commerce between these two vibrant sectors. The Council will participate in key panel discussions during the above event to help stakeholders discover the benefits of co-productions, film incentives and how these have a positive impact on tourism and the economy of a country. The Council will also release a special report by Ernst & Young at this event.
“If you want to create a successful local production industry, it is essential that you are in a position to compete with some of the very attractive tax incentives that are on offer around the world. FICCI FRAMES is the perfect forum for constructive discussion on tax incentives and co-productions, and I look forward to participating thanks to the LA India Film Council,” said Catherine McDonnell, Head of Business and Legal Affairs, Fox Studios Australia.
Added Teri Schwartz, Dean – UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television, “I am honored to participate at the 2013 FICCI FRAMES Conference, and applaud this great initiative by the Council. I believe the development of talent and skill sets in the media and entertainment industry should embrace global diversity and be welcoming of talent from all all walks of life. I hope the Council’s continuing efforts will help with the free exchange of talent not only between our two countries, but across the globe.”
In 2012, LAIFC undertook several initiatives to engage with key custodians and stakeholders of the two filmmaking communities in the United States and India, including the establishment of discussions on content protection in the digital era, stimulating film co-productions, launching a short film festival, and participating in film festivals and the release of two reports on film incentives and monetising digital content.
