Shooting-friendly UP makes an impression on filmmakers at Cannes

For years, Indian filmmakers have been seeking foreign locales to shoot their films ' be it Yash Chopra shooting song sequences in the Swiss Alps or Karan Johar shooting entire movies in the US. Now, it might just be the turn of international films to be set in India, especially Uttar Pradesh ' a trend that has been limited so far. So we might see foreign actors shooting on the ghats of Varanasi and the streets of Lucknow and Agra more often.This change has been signalled by over half a dozen international filmmakers and commissions at the Cannes Film Festival expressing interest in shooting in Uttar Pradesh.
A three-member delegation from the UP Film Development Council visited the Cannes Film Festival last week, where they showcased the state's film policy. Vishal Kapoor, one of the members of the delegation, tells us, "We presented the message of 'Make your film in UP' to international filmmakers at Cannes and met with a number of international filmmakers, who were eager to come to UP and begin shooting here."
Apart from filmmakers Christopher Simon and Shirani Le Mercier, both of whom have decided to begin projects in the state later this year, Indo-Canadian indie film maker Maahi Kaur and British director Emilia Esther Wileman have said they will shoot their films in Varanasi. Maahi has directed an independent film called Rolling Dream that was appreciated in the festival circles. Simon, an Australian producer, has earlier produced the Drew Barrymore-starrer Miss You Already and worked as an associate producer on the Guy Pearce-starrer The Proposition, while le Mercier is a French consultant who has worked with names like Mike Nichols and Ron Howard.
But it's not just filmmakers who have decided to head to UP to shoot. A number of film commissions have also offered to tie up with UPFDC to facilitate greater exchange of actors, technicians and shoots between UP and other countries. Among the representatives who met the UPFDC delegation at Cannes were Karen Thorne-Stone, president and CEO of Ontario Media Development Corporation (Canada), Erico Jakob, secretary general of Cinestyria Film Commission (Austria), and Angelika Pagitz from Cine Tirol Film Commission (which handles shooting in primarily the Alps). Cine Tirol has earlier facilitated the shoot of Indian films like Yuvraaj and Action Jackson, while Cinestyria was a partner in the Daniel Craig-starrer Spectre. The commissions have expressed interest not just in bringing their projects here, but also facilitating the exchange of technicians. Vishal Kapoor says, "We have received a very positive response from the filmmakers and dignitaries we met in France. They were curious about the state's film policy. Hopefully, this will result in a lot of them coming to UP and shooting here."
Officials say they are planning to give foreign filmmakers rebates similar to the ones given to Indian filmmakers for shooting in UP. Under its Film Policy of 2014, the UP government gives a subsidy of 1 crore onwards to Indian makers who shoot more than half their film in the state. The scheme may soon be extended to foreign filmmakers as well.The push has been part of UP's film policy to promote the state as a film-friendly location. Speaking to us after UP had been given a special mention as a film-friendly state in the National Awards, Navneet Sehgal, chairman, Film Bandhu, the state's nodal body for film promotion, had said "So far, our policy is concerned with luring more Indian filmmakers, but we will surely expand to international films as well when the time is right. The focus is to promote UP as one of the premier film shooting locations at a global level."