India to sign film treaty with Italy

| 01 December 2004 23:11 IST

India will shortly sign a co-production treaty with Italy, to facilitate Indian filmmakers to shoot in their country without much difficulty, while availing concessions.

“This move will give a huge boost to the Indian film industry”, said central information and broadcasting minister Jaipal Reddy today.

Briefing the media at the venue of the 35th International Film Festival here, Reddy said similar treaties would also be signed with other countries like France, Germany, UK and Canada.

While the ministry is awaiting a formal cabinet decision to sign the treaty with Italy, talks with French ambassador have already begun during the latter’s visit to India.

Similarly, India is also planning to actually begin the single window system for the foreign filmmakers, who otherwise face lots of bureaucratic hurdles while seeking clearance for shooting in India.

The Indian filmmakers also have good news from the information ministry in terms of financial help. Reddy said he is planning to rope in US-based Film Finance Ltd, who is prepared to finance the filmmakers through the public financial institutions, without asking for collateral security.

“Of course they would issue loan on commission basis and after verifying the track record, the script as well as the potential of the movie”, he clarified.

When pointed out that the guidelines of the censor board have become outdated, Reddy informed the media that a committee is being set up to suggest amendments. They will also study the amendments suggested by former censor board chief Vijay Anand, he added.

Regarding the pirated Indian films being shown in Pakistan, Reddy suggested that Pakistan should legally allow viewing of Indian films to solve the problem rather than allowing pirated copies.

Drop a comment