The India Pavilion (112 Village International Riviera) at the 67^th Cannes Film Festival, May 2014, will be a path-breaking one indeed. The Pavilion, co-ordinated by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), India's oldest and apex chamber of commerce, on behalf of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, will be inaugurated by the legendary Kamal Haasan, producer, film-maker, actor and Chairman, FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee – South, along with luminaries such as HE Arun K Singh, Indian Ambassador to France; Shri Bimal Julka, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, Filmmaker Ramesh Sippy and Mr Jerome Paillard, Executive Director, Marche du Film (the Cannes Film Market). Also accompanying them will be Uday Chopra, who heads the international arm of Indian production powerhouse YRF, in a rare public appearance. Uday's presence at Cannes is a matter of pride for Indian cinema – YRF is one of the producers of the festival's opening film, Olivier Dahan's Grace of Monaco. Later in the day there will be a discussion and felicitation of Titli, India's official selection at the festival (Un Certain Regard section) along with the cast and crew including director Kanu Behl.

The India Pavilion will showcase Indian cinema across linguistic, cultural and regional diversity, with the aim of forging an increasing number of international partnerships in the realms of distribution, production, filming in India, script development and technology, and promoting film sales and syndication. In particular, the area of focus at this year's Cannes Film Festival is establishing India as a global film shooting destination and highlighting initiatives such as Single Window Clearance and co-production agreements with various countries that will enable this.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has carefully planned and ensured that this year the space available for Indian delegates is probably the most substantial in the Cannes village with an area of 126 sq metres. To ensure optimum utilization of this coveted space, the Ministry and FICCI have worked hard to make an extensive schedule of pre-structured B2B meetings for delegates. Both the government and FICCI hope to forge an enviable number of international partnerships in the realms of distribution, production, filming in India, script development and technology, and promote film sales and syndication. Apart from structured B2B meetings between delegates, FICCI and the Ministry are also working on doing small focused networking events with specific countries such as New Zealand, Australia and Germany, in order to propel Indian co-productions with those countries.

In another significant first, the Ministry has released the 'India Film Guide' for the Cannes Film Market, which will be on display and distributed at the Pavilion and which has exhaustive descriptions of the policy initiatives of the ministry, its affiliated bodies; details of all India's co-production agreements; all Indian films at Cannes and visiting Indian delegates; key databases pertaining to the sector and the winners of this year's National Awards.

The India Pavilion aims to bring about substantial interest from the international community in exploiting India's full potential as the largest film-making nation in the world. India has the most vibrant film sector and is currently occupying a significant space in the global arena. We produce over 1000 films in more than a dozen languages annually.

The key area of focus at this year's Cannes Film Festival for India is to establish herself as a global film shooting destination through highlighting progressive government initiatives such as Single Window Clearance and co-production agreements with various countries.

Apart from being a bridge for the international stakeholders to seek out Indian counterparts, the India Pavilion will also be a platform for Indian filmmakers and producers to navigate international waters in order to market their films on the world stage and hold fruitful discussions to forge important ties towards co-production arrangements.

To fulfil this goal, there will be interactive sessions with Indian and international film industry stakeholders at the India Pavilion organized by FICCI in partnership with the Ministry. Speakers at these sessions will include Dave Gibson, CEO, New Zealand Film Commission; Graeme Mason, CEO, Screen Australia; Cindy Shyu, CEO Lighthouse Productions, China; Colin Burrows, CEO, Special Treats Productions; and crew members from Grace of Monaco, the opening film at the festival, and the first international venture from YRF Entertainment, the Hollywood arm of Yash Raj Films; cast and crew members from Titli, India's official entry to Cannes.

The India Pavilion will also be showcasing trailers of recent Indian films and displaying brochures and other literature of Indian film companies. FICCI will be facilitating structured B2B meetings between Indian and international delegates at the festival, and coordinating for exclusive networking events. Alongside, the 'India Film Guide', which will list all film related initiatives undertaken by the Government of India and information about all Indian films and delegates at Cannes this year, will be distributed to key international stakeholders.

India will be represented at Cannes by senior Government of India officials as well as industry stakeholders such as Uday Chopra, Actor, Producer and Director; Bobby Bedi, Producer and Filmmaker; film-makers Sudhir Mishra, Dibakar Banerjee, Gitanjali Rao; Ravi Kottarakara, President, Film Federation of India; Supran Sen, Secretary General, FFI; Kulmeet Makkar, CEO, Film & Television Producers Guild of India; and many others. As well, India Pavilion will see the presence of Indian filmmakers whose films have been selected at Cannes this year and other industry veterans and stars.

According to Shri Bimal Julka, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, 'The India Pavilion at Cannes will provide a platform for Indian filmmakers and producers to navigate international waters in order to market their films on the world stage and hold fruitful discussions to forge important ties towards co-production arrangements.' (click here to download programme)

'We are honoured and privileged to be working with and on behalf of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting at the prestigious 67^th Cannes Film Festival,' said Dr A. Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI. 'It is the next step in FICCI's continual efforts to bring Indian entertainment to the global forefront.'