The idea of co-productions that became popular in the 1970s and was almost exclusively related to US film companies co-producing films with European partners has now become a by-word in the World Cinema production scene. All kinds of co-production projects are being conceptualized and executed bringing together partners in film production that would be scarcely imaginable even a decade ago. The production profiles of a sizeable number of films at this festival should convince sceptics of this fact. Co-production thus is the flavour of the season in film circles. Two IBM2 discussion panels Co-productions-Prospects and Practices co-organized by Osian’s Cinefan and Fortissimo Films brings together Indian and Asian government agencies, producers, financiers and filmmakers to discuss the current climate in co-production in Asia with specific reference to India.

The first session hopes to thrash out the intricacies and the raison d’être of co-productions, their practical dynamics and usefulness and the prospects they offer for filmmakers from all over the world to realize their projects. The second session will bring together some of the directors of films that are co-produced internationally as well as case studies of globally successful co-produced films to analyze in detail the practices that go into making a successful co-produced film.

Bio-notes

Session 1

Wouter Barendrecht
Dutch-born Wouter Barendrecht founded Fortissimo in 1991 after years of experience working as a programmer for the Rotterdam Film Festival and a press officer for the Berlin Film Festival’s International Forum. A member of the European Film Academy, Barendrecht has, at Fortissimo, guided titles such as Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love, Heavy, La Spagnola, Iron Ladies, Super Size Me and Shortbus to international success. He has served on international juries (Berlin, Sarajevo, Edinburgh, Sydney and Jerusalem), and was the director of the inaugural Hong Kong - Asia Film Financing Forum. Together with Co-chairman Michael Werner, Barendrecht was awarded a Golden Kinnaree for their contribution to Asian cinema by the Bangkok Film Festival. He has lived in Hong Kong since 1997.

 Lorna Tee is Business Development Manager with the film magazine Variety and is based in Hong Kong. She is producer of numerous cutting edge Malaysian films of recent times. Most notably she has produced numerous films of the director James Lee and Yuhang Ho’s cult Rain Dogs. Currently she is involved in a number of international co-productions and is organizing a panel at the festival on the Asian Co-production scene in partnership with international sales agents Fortissimo Films.

Nina Lath Gupta Nina Lath Gupta joined the National Film Development Corporation Ltd. (NFDC) as Managing Director in April 2006. Prior to this, she was an officer of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) and was posted in New Delhi as Additional Commissioner of Income Tax. During the course of her civil service career, she has also been on deputation in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting from 1998-2002 as Deputy Secretary where she dealt with matters related to the film industry and to all the film organisations under the administrative control of the Ministry, including NFDC. From 1999 to 2000 she was an ex-officio director on the Board of NFDC. She has now resigned from IRS and joined NFDC.

Bobby Bedi
Producer of some 15 well-known films, actor and owner Kaleidoscope, an internationally recognised film and television house, Bobby Bedi ventured into films in 1984 after a couple of years in multinationals like HCL, Sony and Philips, armed with an MBA in financial management from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute, Mumbai. Kaleidoscope received its first funds from Doordarshan for In which Annie Gives It Those Ones (1988), followed by funds from Channel Four for Electric Moon and Bandit Queen. Among the films he has produced are The Rising, Maqbool, Saathiya, Train to Pakistan and Fire. Bedi has a documentary series for television called Kehta Hai Joker. He has also acted in five films.The FICCI convention-Frames, the largest media entertainment convention - is his brainchild. He also runs a company that offers film completion services. He is currently working out the details for a crossover film, based on British writer Humphrey Hawksley's Dragon Fire.

Sunil Doshi
Founder Member and director of NDTV Lumiere. Handmade Films’ director Sunil Doshi has been quintessentially a film activist for many years. He has extended his interest and passion for cinema into production, acquisition and distribution of different kind of films and programming of Indian films at various film festivals.

Uday Singh Uday Singh is the Executive Vice-President, Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group. He spearheaded the Sony Pictures Entertainment India chapter, launching Saawariya, the maiden Hindi production of Sony with acclaimed director Sanjay Leela Bhansali. He greenlights Indian productions under the banner of SPE.

Jacob Wong
Jacob Wong has been curator of the Hong Kong International Film Festival since 1997, specializing in Asian cinemas. He is also the delegate of the Berlin IFF, the Locarno IFF and Mexico’s Los Cabos IFF in Asia. He has also curated film programmes for other film festivals and cultural institutions, the most recent being The State of the World for the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian’s in Lisbon, to celebrate the institute’s 50th anniversary.

Ketan Mehta is on of India’s leading filmmakers. He has made innumerable feature films, documentaries and television series. Many of these award-winning works handle themes such as romance, violence and rebellion. He has been on the jury of various national and international film festivals. His films A Touch of Spice and The Rising have been shown at Osian’s-Cinefan.

Session 2

Sudhir Misra
Renowned director and script writer Sudhir Misra studied in Delhi University where he formed a theatre group called Workshop Theatre with Badal Sircar and worked on several plays with him. In 1980, he moved to Mumbai and started his career as assistant director & scriptwriter in Kundan Shah’s comedy classic Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, and later went on to work with Saeed Akhtar Mirza and Vidhu Vinod Chopra. His directorial debut film Yeh Woh Manzil Nahin in 1987 won the National Film Award for Best First Film of a Director. He is best known for directing critically acclaimed films like Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi which won 2006 Filmfare Best Story Award, Dharavi and Chameli. His acclaimed film Main zinda Hoon received the National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues.

Annemarie Jacir
Annemarie Jacir is a Palestinian filmmaker and poet. She has been working in independent cinema and has written, directed and produced a number of award-winning films. Her poetry and stories have been published in numerous literary journals and anthologies. Her short film, Like Twenty Impossibles was the first Palestinian short film to be selected for the Cannes International Film Festival (Cinefondation). It won many awards at international festivals. Jacir has taught courses at the universities of Columbia, Bethlehem, and Birzeit.

Nabil Ayouch
Born in 1969,Nabil Ayouch was raised in Paris where he directed more than fifty commercials. His first short film, Les Pierres Bleues du Désert with Jamel Debbouze, was made in 1992. Ayouch has received many awards at international festivals. His films, Mektoub, a box-office success, and Ali Zaoua represented Morocco at the Oscars in 1999 and 2001 respectively.

Celine Brotons
Producer of the French-Algerian collaboration, The Yellow House, Celine Brotons is the Director of Sarah Films.

Francois da Silva
Francois da Silva has programmed and managed cinemas in his country for almost 20 years. For more than five years, he was in charge of 14 screens, specializing in art-house films. In 2002 he became the Artistic Director of the Director’s Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival for the 2003 selection. He is currently working as Artistic Advisor for Europacorp, the biggest independent production company in Europe founded by French director Luc Besson, and scouts for talent and for films for production and/or distributor worldwide, particularly in Asia.