Indian Indies Face Distribution Hurdles Despite Global Festival Success, Film Bazaar Panel Finds

A panel of film industry veterans at Film Bazaar highlighted both opportunities and challenges facing independent Indian cinema, particularly in distribution and theatrical exhibition.

During a discussion moderated by Rajeev Masand, COO of Dharma Cornerstone Agency, panelists addressed the complex ecosystem required to sustain independent filmmaking in India.

“There is absolutely no independence,” said filmmaker Pan Nalin (“Last Film Show”), describing the interconnected dependencies of sales agents, festivals and distributors. Pan Nalin detailed how his team opted for theatrical releases for Oscar-shortlisted “Last Film Show” in territories like Spain and Scandinavia before streaming deals, noting this strategy helped generate better streaming revenues. He revealed that when budgeting independent films, his team now calculates zero returns from India due to the challenging domestic market conditions for indies.

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The theatrical landscape remains particularly challenging in India. “We don’t have enough theaters,” Nirupama Kotru, Joint Secretary and Financial Advisor, Government of India, pointed out, explaining that with just 3,000-5,000 screens for a population of over 1.4 billion, independent films struggle to secure exhibition slots.

French producer Dominique Welinski emphasized that while streaming platforms and international markets offer opportunities, theatrical releases remain vital in territories where cinema-going culture persists. She cited recent Indian-themed films, the Cannes-winning “All We Imagine as Light” and Cannes-selected U.K. Oscar entry “Santosh” performing well in France: “Both [films] are doing more than 100,000 admissions in France now, which is quite a lot for us.”

Government support was also addressed by Kotru, who outlined four key pillars: “Definition and enlightenment, funding, promotion through contests and initiatives, and training through institutes like FTII [Film and Television Institute of India].”

Parashar advocated for increased government funding through CSR initiatives and highlighted how technological advances have democratized filmmaking: “Now we can edit, do color correction, music, effects, transition… with software that costs $12 a month.” He also emphasized the importance of developing cinema infrastructure and introducing diverse cinema education in schools to cultivate future audiences.

While streaming platforms initially promised to be havens for independent films, panelists noted they increasingly favor star-driven content and franchises. However, film festivals continue to provide crucial launching pads for independent voices.

The discussion concluded on a hopeful note regarding new talent. “We have enormous talent, screenwriters, storytellers… there’s no shortage of passion and talent,” Nalin said, while underlining the need for better economic understanding of independent cinema “rather than grants and hoping that some festival will celebrate you.”

“From my festival point of view, more and more films are coming out of the world. International festivals like Rotterdam all of them take thousands and thousands and thousands of applications, but they do get seen,” added Rabarts. “Someone will watch that film. Someone will watch and the success of something like ‘All We Imagine as Light’ increases the possibility for your film to be selected, because it’s driven a fever around Indian cinema right now. It is a real interest.”

Film Bazaar (Nov. 20-24) is the project market component of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI, Nov. 20-28) in Goa.