123 Kolkata: City-based film producer Firdausul Hasan, who has been elected as the president of the Film Federation of India (FFI) for the third time after 2019 and 2020, is planning to vigorously promote untapped shooting destinations of India for both foreign and Indian films. The elections were conducted in Goa on Tuesday.
It is widely known that a jury nominated by FFI determines the India entry to the Oscars. The apex body has 30 associations as members and encompasses the interests of distributors, exhibitors, producers and studio owners. "It is a trade body that represents Indian films nationally and internationally. We want to help bring the focus of international stakeholders so that they can shoot in more Indian locations that are chosen as shooting destinations for all cinema," Hasan said.
During his third tenure, the producer of ‘Padatik', ‘Shesh Pata', ‘Aparajito' and ‘Mayurakshi' expressed his desire to develop and focus on the north east. "Indian cinema is not merely about Hindi movies. There are other languages too. Currently, we have co-productions treaties with 16 countries, including Spain, Poland, New Zealand, Korea, Israel, France, China, Bangladesh, UK, Germany, Italy and Brazil. We aim to endeavour to increase this number," he said.
The fundamental objective of FFI is to promote commerce in general and safeguard the interests of the Indian film industry and allied industries and trades, including the interests of producers, distributors and exhibitors of films and of all other persons associated with the film industry, to regulate their business practices, to establish fair and equitable principles, to maintain uniformity in rules, regulations and practices of the film industry. The apex body also implements measures to resolve any challenges faced by those engaged in various aspects of the film industry. "We are the largest film producing country in the world. Post Covid, the film industry has been experiencing a difficult period. We have recuperated somewhat. But there are areas of concern. We don't have sufficient screens. We need to have more regional offices where producers can apply for certification and further streamline the norms for shooting with animals," Hasan explained.