Australian Film Festival of India (AFFI) is an undertaking by the An Australian Film Initiative which is a step by like minded Australian film professionals to promote Australian films and distribution networks in emerging and non traditional markets of India, Middle East, and South America among others. The inaugural AFFI screenings will be held on March 26th and 27th this year with the Knowledge series integrated with Frames 2011.

Festival organisers say that such an ambitious start for the first year is only a harbinger of AFFI’s promise to develop every year with leading Australian film personalities as patrons, investment into Indo-Australian project and distribution, distribution of quality cinema between the two countries.

Leena Jaisani from FICCI-FRAMES said, “We are delighted and welcome the collaboration with An Australian Film Initiative’s –Australian Film Festival in India (AFFI). Australia and India, with FRAMES in particular, have shared warm and increasingly beneficial relations in the area of films and media with many Australian speakers and delegates participating in FRAMES since it began in 2000. With AFFI and the knowledge series FRAMES hopes to further strengthen the association with Australian film and media industries and welcome many more professional delegates”

AFFI co-director and producer Anupam Sharma said “AFFI will celebrate Australian cinematic achievements and is our attempt to provide a much needed, strong platform in India for Australians to promote, collaborate, and distribute their work and cinema culture.” The biggest Australian film initiative in India, AFFI’s vision is to build a stronger and better bridge through the tools of cinema, culture and trade between the two nations of such similarities. AFFI boasts of a strong and rich board of film and non-film professionals who have great expertise in Australian and Indian film links that date back to the 1930s. The festival has received wide spread support and commendation from Australian and Indian agencies.