Cinema industry gets a boost

The Director of the Mauritius Film Development Corporation, Sachin Jeetun, seems to be high in contentment after the Cinema Week resounding success last week. He has been able to hold the festival with the least encroachment, be it financially or in the field of infrastructure.

The MFDC, with the help of the Ministry of Arts and Culture and the support of the Board of Investment, upheld its colours high at inviting high rank stars of both Indian and European Cinema to host the festival – Kabir Bedi and Rani Mukerjee on the Indian side and Emmanuelle Beart from the  French side, Jootun told us during the festival.

How did he manage? ‘Cinema is all about relationships and all those stars who participated in the Cinema Week did so, at their own cost. Each one of the organisers used his own contacts to get one star coming for the festival free of cost except for the air ticket. Or else it would have been a fortune to pay stars like Kabir Bedi, Rani Mukerji, Emmanuelle Beart, Vivek Oberoi, Rajamouli and others to come here, even if it were for one or two days.

In his Vision 2030 speech, Sir Anerood Jugnauth had stressed that the Cinema industry should be an emerging sector of our economy. The recent Cinema Week marks a milestone in the realisation of this project. Together with the support of the Board of Investment, this clause inscribed in Vision 2030 is sure to become a reality.

The Cinema Week was not only of glamour but it paid dividends otherwise, with the publicity it got from the world media, the visibility of Mauritius on the world scene, the interest it created in the minds of film makers to come here for shooting. It brought also an invaluable benefit for our tourism industry.

‘This is but a start,’ Jootun told News on Sunday. ‘Cinema is a big industry. It brings in its trail a long chain of sub-industries like providing shooting equipment and props, catering services, hospitality, professionals…’ The shooting and production of one film only can mobilise more than one thousand persons; in other words it is also a job provider,’ he added.
The success of this Cinema Week heralds a prosperous film industry in Mauritius. It can become another pillar of the economy following the boost given to the SME sector and together with the tourism industry, the island is heading towards a high revenue society, Jootun concluded.

Objectives reached

On the government side too, satisfaction was expressed during a press conference held on Tuesday 10 October when Ministers Bodha, Gayan, and Roopun underlined the necessity to have the event repeated every year.

For Nando Bodha, the Mauritius Cinema Week gave the opportunity to local artists who are either interested, amateurs or professionals in cinematography to learn from the renowned international artists. This four-day event has also symbolised the breakthrough of Mauritian cinema as a profession.

He made this statement during a press conference focussing on the Mauritius Cinema Week at La Bellone, Labourdonnais Waterfront Hotel, Caudan, in presence of the Minister of Tourism, Mr Anil Gayan, and the Minister of Arts and Culture, Mr Prithvirajsing Roopun.

Minister Bodha highlighted that the objectives of this cinematographic week were to promote business linkages and the development of the film industry in Mauritius, create a forum to encourage linkages between local and international film producers as well as stimulate, popularise and put the spot light on the nascent local film industry and market the incentives under the Film Rebate Scheme.

‘This event also aimed at positioning Mauritius as an attractive shooting location in the region,’ he added. According to him, the objectives have been achieved and he expects a Mauritian cinematographic culture to develop in the future.

He underlined that discussions with the Prime Minister, Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, will be held so as to allocate a budget for script writing, which is an important factor for the launching of a cinematographic project and catch the eye of great producers. A good script is essential in order to have big producers and actors, he added.

For his part, the Minister of Tourism pointed out that the Mauritius Cinema Week has been beneficial to the tourism industry as all the cinema stars present for the event contributed to increase Mauritius’ visibility in other countries through the media. He also expressed the hope that the Cinema Week translates into a Cinema Festival next year.

On the other hand, the Minister of Arts and Culture pointed out that there are immense possibilities in the cinematographic market, adding that having a small niche in that market is an attainable goal. Prithviraj Roopun also stressed that several cinema stars expect the event to be repeated and are willing to participate actively to make the next edition of Mauritius Cinema Week even better.