With nine months to go before the Indian film industry makes Yorkshire and Humber its temporary home for the IIFA awards weekend, Yorkshire Forward is wasting no time in making sure the region builds its profile in India.
Today (Monday, 16th October) the agency will showcase the region's assets to an audience of over 200 leaders of the Indian media industry at the 'India Media and Entertainment Forum' in London. Attendees will include Yash Chopra, one of India’s most prolific producers and Ranjan das Munsi, India's Minister of Information and Broadcasting.
Hosted by the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the forum will bring together key stakeholders from around the world to discover the growth of the Indian media and entertainment sector.
Yorkshire Forward's main objective in supporting Yorkshire Tourist Board's bid to bring the IIFA awards to the region is to showcase Yorkshire and Humber's investment potential and grow trade links with India. The Indian economy is predicted to grow by 10% in the next year, and businesses are actively looking for opportunities to invest overseas – particularly in the UK.
India's media and entertainment industry is currently worth $4.5 million and is predicted to grow by 18% year on year over the next five years. Its main driver of growth is in the field of convergence - bringing together multiple entertainment platforms such as television, mobile telecommunications and the web, an area Yorkshire excels at.
Yorkshire and Humber is now the fastest growing creative and digital sector outside London, leading on a number of innovative projects in the development of digital content for multi-platform delivery, for some of the world's biggest commissioners including the BBC, Channel 4 and Orange.
'Yorkshire and India's coordinating agendas in the area of multi-platform content delivery gives us an ideal opportunity to raise the region's profile and develop business and trade links with India in advance of the IIFA awards in 2007' explains Theresa Lindsay, Head of Marketing at Yorkshire Forward.
The forum will also look at opportunities in the areas of film and digital entertainment, providing an ideal opportunity for the region to showcase our strengths in this area. Filming locations in Yorkshire and Humber are on average 30-50% less expensive than London, whilst regional production crews provide similar value for money. Currently 50% of Bollywood films are shot overseas.
Yorkshire Forward's Digital Industry Champion Professor Bill Boffin will take part in a panel discussion on developing opportunities in the digital sector and Screen Yorkshire will also be in attendance to outline the support available to production companies wanting to film in the region.
The event will take the form of exhibits, panel discussions and keynote addresses including;
- A ministerial address on the opportunities to strengthen cultural ties between India and the UK through trade and investment
- A panel discussion on the various global opportunities on offer to Indian Film production houses
- A panel discussion on the growing importance of multi-platform content delivery and the opportunities on offer to the Indian market
No rest for the region in run up to IIFA 'Bollywood' awards