India's Creative Economy showcased at Annecy International Animation Festival in France

Photo/PIB

India is participating at the The Annecy International Animation Festival (AIAF) for the first time this year. An Indian delegation led by the Secretary, Information and Broadcasting, Apurva Chandra with eminent personalities of the animation industry have been showcasing India's prowess in creating animation and VFX content for global audiences at the AIAF.

India has lately emerged as a preferred destination of VFX and animation content for global production houses. The animation and VFX market in India was pegged to be valued at Rs 109 billion in 2021, with the VFX business alone amounting to Rs 50 billion. This figure is expected to grow to Rs 180 billion by 2024 according to a E&Y report. India's participation at Annecy therefore assumes greater importance as the country showcases its abilities in the sector to international buyers.

Speaking about India's participation, Chandra said, "The Animation, Gaming, Visual Effects and Comics (AVGC) Sector in India is making progress with the adoption of world-class techniques and innovative technologies, coupled with a pool of immensely talented professionals. India is one of the few countries providing cash incentive to foreign companies for making AVGC content in India. The incentives are the same as for shooting films in India. This is a huge opportunity for companies to benefit from this. As a country, we are committed to providing incentives to the industry, as well as supporting pre and post-production activities in India."

At the festival, Chandra met Michael Marin, director of AIAF and discussed the possibilities of strengthening India's engagement at Annecy and the potential of collaboration between India and France to host an animation film festival in India. Shri. Chandra inaugurated the India Pavilion, which has been designed on the theme of the Saraswati Yantra and also interacted with the Indian creative community who have won entries in the prestigious Annecy festival competition in 2023. Young creators Arvind Jeena, Nikita Prabhudesai Jeena, Upamanyu Bhattacharyya, Kalp Sanghvi along with industry seniors such as Saraswati Vani Balgum, Kireet Khurana, Biren Ghosh, Anil Wanvari and Anne Doshi, among others, were present at the festival.

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Besides, Chandra interacted with delegates from other countries and the discussions centred around the various initiatives of the Ministry with regards to the AVGC sector, the incentives given by the Indian Government for ease of business in the sector.