Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr L.Murugan, will lead an Indian Delegation to the Tashkent International Film Festival , at Tashkent,Uzbekistan,this year. The participation in this film festival is aimed to build cinematic partnerships, have exchange of programmes, nurture filmmaking and act as a bridge between the cultures. Known as the “ Pearl of The Silk Road” ,the Tashkent International Film Festival was started in 1968, and Indian film Amrapali was screened in the opening edition of the festival.

Indian cinema made a name for itself on the world map back in the early Indian cinema days when the films of Shri Raj Kapoor received love from across the world, especially in Uzbekistan and the Central Asia region as well. Indian cinema continues to have a charm to date as our cultural way of storytelling and art forms transcend into our storytelling and are appreciated not only in India but the world, such as the song “Natu Natu” from the film RRR by Shri Rajamouli that recently bagged the award for best song at the golden globe winning the heart of cinema lovers across the world.

Relations between Uzbekistan and India have their roots deeper in the history.  In recent years, there has been significant intensification in bilateral ties, under Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Working on the vision of our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to create an enriching filming ecosystem and a future-ready Industry with ongoing growth prospects in India for the world, India has been keen to co-produce movies, exchange the understanding and techniques of cinema, and develop ways to make our cinema/industries inclusive. During its presidency year of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation ( SCO) this year, India organised the SCO Film Festival at Mumbai in January 2023.

India’s participation in TIFFEST is on the theme given by Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, Hon’ble Minister of Information & Broadcasting, Youth Affairs & Sports, of ‘Showcasing India’s Creative Economy,’ which promises to be a catalyst for exciting and meaningful discussions

As we pave the way for India to become the global content hub and create a collaborative filming ecosystem the Tashkent International Film Festival will provide the platform for cinematic partnerships between Uzbekistan and other participating countries. The announcement of incentives to the foreign filmmakers will be promoted to attract more filmmakers to India.

The festival platform would be utilized to promote this year’s edition of the 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which is scheduled from 20th to 28th November 2023 in Goa, India.

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Saurabh Singh