Film Bazaar in Goa: where the dream of Indian indie cinema lives on

Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox became a runaway success at the box office, in India and abroad. Chaitanya Tamhane’s Court has won standing ovations at film festivals all over the world. Almost no one saw Rajat Kapoor’s Aankhon Dekhi even though it was one of the best films of 2013. What do these three very different films have in common? All of them, in different ways, owe a little bit of their success to National Film Development Corporation.

NFDC was set up in 1975 by the Indian government with the intention of encouraging good cinema. The last 39 years haven’t always been smooth for the agency, but it’s done its best to carry out its mission by helping aspiring filmmakers in different ways. One such initiative is Film Bazaar, which will be held in Goa between 20th and 24th November. Started in 2008, Film Bazaar takes place alongside the International Film Festival of India and is a place that connects filmmakers with producers, distributors and critics. It’s a networking event that has helped foster almost every good, non-mainstream Indian film that you can name.

Here are a few things to look forward to at this year’s Film Bazaar.

There will be 133 films screened at The Viewing Room, including the fantastic documentary The Last Adieu and Chauranga, which won the award for the best Indian festival at this year’s Mumbai Film Festival. It’s also a chance to discover some new talent because many of the films have only just been completed.

The Works In Progress Lab has some intriguing projects, like the documentary titled Waiting for Herzog, which is about a group of old film lovers who invite director Werner Herzog to their town in India. Other entries include director Manav Kaul’s second film Tathagata and Reema Borah’s crowdfunded Assamese film, Bokul.

This year, the NFDC Knowledge Series hopes to start conversations between industry insiders. On 21st November, filmmaker Rohan Sippy and the head of Salman Khan Ventures, Amar Butala will be part of a panel discussing the idea of a “good remake”. If you’re curious about Dibakar Banerjee’s upcoming film, Detective Byomkesh Bakshy, the director will be talking about it and recreating Kolkata of the 1940s on 23rd November. There’s also a masterclass with producer and director Vidhu Vinod Chopra and director Sudhir Mishra that should be very entertaining, whether or not its educational. Director Anurag Kashyap will also be giving a masterclass on “maximising” your film, on 24th November. The star attraction on the last day of Film Bazaar is a conversation between director, producer and television star Karan Johar and critic Rajeev Masand.

In addition to the general Screenwriters’ Lab, there’s also a Romance Screenwriters’ Lab this year that has been mentored by Ishaqzaade director Habib Faisal and screenwriter Bhavani Iyer, who wrote Guzaarish and Lootera.