IBC2013 opens next week with a celebration of Indian cinema in its convention keynote: "100 Years of Indian Cinema: Creative Evolution and Global Markets." India has become one of the world's largest film industries, with 1000 films released annually. The growing wealth of India's 1.6 billion young, predominantly English-speaking population make it a territory that cannot be ignored by any overseas studio or exhibitor.
Taking place next Friday, 13 September at 09:30 in the Forum, the keynote will be chaired by Mohinder Walia, managing director of Mumbai Media City, which is India's largest Hollywood-benchmarked facility right in the heart of Mumbai city. Walia also founded Golden Bird Entertainment, a film and TV production company with feet in both Mumbai and Los Angeles.
Walia will open the keynote with a conversation with Amitabh Bachchan, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the history of Indian cinema. Bachchan has appeared in more than 180 movies in a career spanning more than four decades. His fame has spread beyond India, as he took an important role in this year's "The Great Gatsby."
This will be followed by a panel discussion with Bachchan; Ashi Dua, producer of "Bombay Talkies" (the official tribute to the first 100 years of Indian cinema); and Ujwal Nirgudkar, chairman, SMPTE India and Director, Film Lab.
