The 6th annual edition of Cinemascapes, an event that celebrates the coming together of cinema and tourism, was held in Mumbai on 24th & 25th October 2012, bringing some 14 exhibiting companies to meet with the professionals in the film fraternity. The event has been supported by the Film and Television Producers Guild of India as its anchor partner since its inception; this year, the event also became a part of the Mumbai Film Festival.
The Film and Television Producers Guild of India was represented by veterans Mukesh Bhatt, the Guild President, Amit Khanna, Ramesh Sippy, Bobby Bedi and Manish Goswami during the daylong event. Mahesh Bhatt, Ramesh Sippy and Shyam Benegal were also present at the Awards ceremony in the evening. The event was also supported by other leading industry association including the IMPPA with the presence of its president T.P. Aggarwal, FFI represented by L. Suresh & Ravi Kottarakara, Manoj Srivastava, CEO, Entertainment Society of Goa and MPAA.
It was two hectic days of discussing challenges in the sector: how the film industry was reaching out in search for Cinemascapes, to enhance the quality and appeal of cinema, and how destination promoters were eagerly wooing the cinema world, thereby increasing the tourism potential of their destinations.
First timer Japan made its entry into this space in India, with its futuristic city of Sapporo in the province of Hokkaido coming forward as the platinum Partner. Sarawak in Malaysia, teamed with other states in Malaysia and made an aggressive bid for bringing Bollywood to its shores, and also promoted its forthcoming international film festival. Indian states of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh continued with their support of the event, coming as Platinum and Silver partners, and made impressive product presentations to the film industry. Zagreb in Croatia came as presentation partner; so did Starwood Hotels and Resorts to sell hotel rooms and also its properties as enviable backdrops for film shootings, both in India and abroad. Individual exhibitors too made their mark. Delhi Tourism is on the anvil to become the single window for cinema shooting in the capital. U-Turn Tax Refund made interesting offers to help get refunds on time and help balance the economics of film shooting; Dubai and Thailand, among others, met with keen film makers and sold their destinations.
The first time awards recognising contribution of cinema to tourism growth witnessed the famous in the Hindi film industry come forward and receive the honours. Giving away the awards in four different segments were stalwarts like Ramesh Sippy, Mahesh Bhatt and Shyam Benegal, noted film maker and chairman of MAMI, and TP Agarwal, president of IMPPA. Among those who received the awards personally included Anurag Basu and Siddharth Roy Kapur for Barfi as the best Hindi film shot on an Indian location; Ritesh Sidhwani for the award winning Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, the best Hindi Film shot on International location, in Spain, a country that received a stupendous growth in its Indian arrivals after the release of the film. The awards equally recognized the eminence of South Indian films in going aboard and chose as award winning some of the best films including Ordinary and Dookadu, each of them memorable in popularising destinations. Fox Star Studio represented by Vivek Krishnani received an award for the film Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as the best International film shot on Indian Cinemascapes. Apart from films, the television soaps and the TVCs were also recognized by for their contribution in popularizing locations in India and Overseas. Tanuj Garg the Film CEO of Balaji received an award for the best General Entertainment TV Fiction shot in an overseas location for Bade Achhe Lagte Hain and Sumit received the best General Entertainment TV Fiction award on an Indian location for Diya aur Baati. The best TVC shot on a cinemascape – International was Cinthol Soap World and Visa Kashmir received the best TVC shot on a cinemascape in India. In addition, the Jury also recognized the contribution made by the directors and cinematographers for films such as Rockstar and Urumi. The contribution made by the destinations was also recognized in the award ceremony. Goa was chosen as the best cinemascape destination in India and Thailand as the best cinemascape destination abroad. Late Dr. Yash Chopra was remembered for his outstanding contribution in promoting Cinemascapes in his films over the years and was conferred with a special award by the Jury.
At the end of the event, another successful edition of Cinemascapes 2012 was seen achieving its objective which is unique in its aspect of bringing tourism in the forefront of Indian cinema.
