S Jaishankar to inaugurate Indian pavilion at Berlin International Film Festival

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will inaugurate the Indian pavilion at the Berlin International Film Festival for which three feature films and one documentary from the country have been selected, an official statement said on Monday.

The Information and Broadcasting ministry in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will participate in the 70th edition of the festival, which will be held from February 20 to March 1.

The film festival will also see an India Pavilion which will provide a platform to popularise Indian cinema in the overseas market and facilitate new business opportunities, an I&B ministry statement said.

This year in Berlin, three Indian feature films -- Pushpendra Singh's 'Laila Aur Satt Geet', Prateek Vats' Eeb Allay Ooo!, Akhsay Indikar's 'Sthalpuran' as well as one short documentary film -- Ekta Mittal's 'Gumnaam Din' -- have been selected.

Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar will inaugurate the Indian pavilion at Berlinale, the statement said

The Indian delegation, through various interactions, will seek to promote the ease of shooting films in India through Film Facilitation Office (FFO) that facilitates Single Window Clearance for filmmakers and provides the platform for 'Cinematic Tourism' in India, the statement said.

The delegation will exhibit India as a post-production hub and promote collaborations for films with international production houses, it added.

The delegation has meetings scheduled with officials from countries, including Israel, South Africa, New Zealand, Spain, Brazil, Portugal, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, United States of America and Rwanda.

The delegation will also meet officials from Locarno Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Venice International Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, Raindance Film Festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Annecy International Animation Festival, among others