IFFI 2018, III: India’s Film Facilitation Office portal launched

India, a land of stories and a melting pot of emotions, narrates itself through breathtaking landscapes. It expresses itself via age-old, man-made splendours, like the Taj Mahal, the mythological narratives at the Ghats of River Ganges, and the cultural clans of the Seven Sister states in the North-East of India.

A Film Facilitation Office (FFO), set up by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, has been working towards easing filming in India and promoting the country as a preferred shooting destination. In an endeavor to further reach out to the filming fraternity across the globe, the Honourable Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, launched the FFO web portal on the 20th of November 2018, at the inaugural ceremony of the 49th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), in Panaji, Goa.

The Minister, seen with superstar Akshay Kumar

The portal will not only enable online submission of applications for international filmmakers, but also list India's co-production treaties and guidelines of key central government ministries/departments. In addition to this, the portal will showcase a locations directory, provide a database of the talent available in the Indian film industry, its filming hubs, and also integrate with other such portals developed by State governments.

It is envisaged that the portal will help International film-makers weave India into their narratives, and also lead to greater international collaborations. It would be a catalyst for States and other key central government stakeholders such as the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Ministry of Railways, etc. to market their locations as destinations.

In view of India’s rapidly growing entertainment industry, the portal endeavours to provide information on facilities available in the country for animation, VFX, and post-production, thus, positioning India as a global production hub.

The FFO portal has been designed and developed with a view to be a single point for all filming related information in the country, leading to greater ease of navigation, and thereby easing filming in the country.