76th Cannes Film Festival will begin today in France. The festival will officially kick off with the world premiere of the Johnny Depp starring film Jeanne Du Barry. Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr L Murugan will lead an Indian delegation at the 12-day event. He will be accompanied by filmmaker Guneet Monga of The Elephant Whisperers fame, Indian actresses Manushi Chillar, Esha Gupta and acclaimed Manipuri actor Kangabam Tomba.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur will address the inaugural session through a video message to showcase India as a global hub for content creation. The Indian Pavilion has been conceptualised and designed by National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad with the theme – ‘Showcasing India’s Creative Economy’ to the global community. Ahead of his visit to the Cannes Film Festival, Dr Murugan said India has cleared its first incentive grant for an international film and more such projects are in the pipeline.
Dr Murugan said that India will participate in the Cannes Film Festival in the spirit of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (One Earth, One Family, One Future), showcasing our rich culture under the powerful creative economy. He said the government’s initiatives for promoting ease of doing business have attracted a number of international film projects to India, which now has co-production treaties with 16 countries and negotiations were at an advanced stage with 20 other nations.
