Scene from 'Gangor'
Photo: Nirvana Motion Pictures
Producer Vinod Kumar
Photo: Nirvana Motion Pictures
Bollywood moguls on 1st Israel visit
Leaders of India's $20.4 billion film and television industry arrive in Holy Land to explore joint ventures, scout location sites
India’s top film industry leaders are visiting Israel
to explore joint ventures and scout location sites under the auspices of Project Interchange/AJC (American Jewish Committee), in cooperation with AIJAC.
The Bollywood moguls include the heads of some of India’s largest and most lucrative film and television companies, in an industry which grosses $20.4 billion annually, according PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Strong Connection
Ilan Mester
Many of Indian cinema's stars came from families of Baghdadi Jewish descent who had been living in country for decades
“I have visited all the important film festivals in the world and have always dreamed of visiting Israel, especially Jerusalem,” said senior delegation member Supran Sen, secretary-general of the Film Federation of India. “I am very much fascinated by this visit.”
The Jerusalem International Film Festival will premiere "Gangor", by prominent Indian producer Vinod Kumar, who is managing director at Nirvana Motion Pictures and secretary-general and founding member of the Film Foundation of India, in Israel with Project Interchange/AJC.
"Gangor" will be shown on Tuesday at 2 pm, at the Begin Heritage Center. The Hollywood Reporter hailed the Indian-Italian co-production as “a moving personal account of the mass rape of India’s poor, tribal women whose voices are rarely, if ever, heard.”
'Taking love and passion for cinema to next level' (Photo: Nirvana Motion Pictures)
Noting how Israeli films continue to garner international awards at Cannes, Hollywood and Berlin, the nine-member delegation are meeting Israel’s leading directors and producers, including Yoram Globus, head of Globus Group Israel Studios, Israel’s largest entertainment and cinema group, and Globus Group CEO and General Director Israel Horowitz.
With a keen interest in animation and other technological innovations, they will also visit Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) to meet with JVP Chair and Partner Uri Adoni, and Renen Schorr, chairman of the New Foundation for Cinema and Television.
"I am eagerly looking forward to meeting the filmmakers and creative talent from Israel,” said filmmaker Abhishek Sharma, of Walkwater Media. “This is a golden opportunity for the artists of the two countries to explore areas and themes of common interest and take the relationship between our two industries to the next level. With a country that is so rich in talent and culture, our Israeli counterparts can surely enrich and contribute to the colorful film industry of India."
Heightened creative interaction
They will tour Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Masada and the Dead Sea, with an eye to attractive filming sites.
“We from India come with our strengths, to learn of your strengths, so that we can collaborate and take our love and passion for cinema to the next level,” said Three’s Company Productions Producer and Director Shirish Kunder.
In addition, the delegation will meet with Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai, and other influential figures across the political and social spectrum.
"I find that Israelis and Indians both have strong family bonds,” observed producer Sundeep “Bobby” Bedi, Kaleidiscope Studios founder. “I look forward to a heightened creative interaction.”
“Project Interchange is proud to host this first-ever visit to Israel by Indian film industry leaders,” said Sam Witkin, Project Interchange executive director. “This is part of a broad initiative by Project Interchange and AJC to deepen bilateral ties between Israel and India.”
Actor Aftab Shivdasani expressed his excitement about the visit. "I’m extremely happy that I finally have the opportunity to visit Israel, and, especially the Jerusalem Film Festival,” he said. “I look forward to getting a taste of the vast and awe-inspiring history of Israel."
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