An India pavilion featuring WAVES Bazaar, the country’s first international e-marketplace for film, media, and AVGC-XR sectors, was inaugurated at the Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday.
Ajay Nagabhushan, joint secretary of ministry of information & broadcasting, and Kapidhwaja Pratap Singh, acting consul general of India in Toronto, inaugurated the pavilion, called Bharat Pavilion, in the presence of TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey.
Curated by National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), the Bharat Pavilion serves as a hub for global networking, B2B meetings, and film industry exchanges, as per a press communique.
The WAVES Bazaar event is set to be held on September 6.
WAVES Bazaar aims to bring together creators and buyers from film, television, streaming, gaming, animation, music, and AVGC-XR.
The platform facilitates networking, buyer-seller interactions, project showcases and collaborations, enabling Indian creators and international stakeholders to form partnerships.
Addressing the gathering after the inauguration, Ajay Nagabhushan said, “Bharat Pavilion at TIFF is not only a celebration of India’s cinematic excellence but also a platform to build global partnerships. For the very first time, India is being represented at TIFF by a delegation comprising solely of women-led film projects.”
Kapidhwaja Pratap Singh stated, “Toronto is home to a vibrant film industry and a large Indian diaspora. The launch of WAVES Bazaar at TIFF is a timely step towards strengthening India–Canada cultural and business ties.”
Bailey, on the other hand, highlighted TIFF’s commitment to fostering cross-cultural partnerships and acknowledged India’s growing influence in the global cinematic landscape.
The discussions following the inauguration focussed on the importance of WAVES and its outcomes, its potential as a bridge between Indian and international creative economies, and explored the possibility of collaborations to establish a film market at TIFF in the near future with Indian content taking centre stage.
