12/03/2003

The United Kingdom’s Film Council (FC) intends increasing cooperation with the Indian film industry, and will use this week’s FRAME conference in Bombay (14-16 March), to launch its ambitious strategy.
The key areas on which the FC will focus in coming years include joint production and distribution ventures of Indian and British films in each other’s countries, infrastructure and the problem of piracy.
UK Film Commissioner Steve Norris, who will be part of the UK delegation with Robert Jones, Head of the FC’s Premiere Fund, Jenny Borgars, the FC’s Head of Development and filmmaker Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth, The Four Feathers), said: “The Indian film industry is becoming more global in its outlook than ever before. Closer links between our two countries will mean that we can get more British films into India and more Indian filmmakers to film in the UK”.
After the US, the United Kingdom is the most important export territory for Indian films with a potential pool of some 3 million filmgoers. Since the mid 90s, Indian films have lead the UK foreign language film chart, and in 2001 Kabhi Kushi Kabhie Gham (which used six British locations), was the second most successful non-English film in the UK after Amelie Poulain (with a £2m-plus (Euros2.895m) box office gross).