Spain and India Talk Location Production and Distribution Opportunities at Film Bazaar

variety.com:

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The vast expanse of opportunity that exists if India and Spain manage to increase and improve their film and TV industry co-operation was on display at a panel session on Sunday at Film Bazaar. “If you explained the incentives, people would be flocking [to Spain] to produce,” said leading Indian producer Nikhil Advani.

He cited similar examples including Estonia and the Middle East where Indian films have been made with subsidies and location incentives. “Yash Raj Films has even gone there and used Spain as a location, not for the incentives,” he added.

In that Advani echoed Juan Manuel Guimerans Rubio, president of Spain’s Film Commission. “Our first task is to raise awareness [of the opportunities],” he said and admitted. “There are more obvious partners.” Indeed, the two countries signed a bilateral co-production treaty as far back as 2012, but which has only been used for one film to date, the Anna Saura and Bobby Bedi-produced “Mudras,” a tale of dancers from different generations, which is now in post-production. “I was surprised that my film is the first co-production between the two countries,” said Saura. “Everything was easy and professional.

Production planning and bureaucracy systems of the two countries were similar.” Neerja Sekhar, from the IAS and special secretary at India’s Ministry of Information & Broadcasting explained that the treaty had lain unused for ten years as India only put its incentives system into place in 2022. “We have started talking about [mutual] distribution and incentives,” she said.