SCO film festival opens without Pakistan
1 min read . Updated: 29 Jan 2023, 06:04 PM IST
PremiumThe festival will feature filmmakers and artists from SCO member countries. Pakistan was conspicuous by its absence after it turned down an Indian invitation to attend.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Film Festival opened in Mumbai with the notable absence of Pakistan. The festival, which opened on Friday and will close on Monday, will feature filmmakers and artists from SCO member countries. However, Pakistan was conspicuous by its absence after it turned down an Indian invitation to attend.
“In view of the prevailing tensions between the two countries and the recent developments, it has been decided that Pakistan will not participate in the SCO Film Festival being held in India," read a statement by the Pakistani authorities.
The SCO counts China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan among its members. India and Pakistan joined the grouping in 2017.
India currently holds the Chairmanship of the SCO for a period of one year. The film festivals is being organized as part of an effort to deepen cultural exchange between member countries. A round-table was also held on the sidelines of the film festival to promote the same.
“During the session, SCO member nations were urged to promote talent exchange and explore co-production agreements with India and avail benefits of the existing Indian film incentives through joint projects. Given that there are relatively strong film industries in India and the participating countries, there is immense potential for promoting India as a destination for film industries of other nations. Potential also exists for providing facilities for Indian films being filmed in these countries," reads a press release by the Press Information Bureau.
“India currently has bilateral audio-visual co-production agreements with China and Russia. There is active consideration for co-production agreements with member countries such as Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Dialogue States such as Turkey. There is close co-operation between the film industries of India, Nepal and Sri Lanka although there are no bilateral agreements," the statement goes on to read.
