#FilmLondon & #CinestaanFilmCompany Join Forces to Celebrate 400 years of #Shakespeare

#FilmLondon & #CinestaanFilmCompany Join Forces to Celebrate 400 years of #Shakespeare

#VishalBharadway #VikasBahl #ReiteshBatra attend partnership launch and get set to mentor filmmakers



At an event held in a suburban hotel(Novotel) at juhu , Mumbai, Cinestaan Film company announced it's financial partnership in the ambitious Film London Microwave International Shakespeare India training through a Production Fund. The three mentors present at the event will guide the winning scriptwriter to flesh out 5 scripts that could move towards production through the newly set-up production fund. " Initially we would chose 1 script among the five to be made into a film. but that does not limit us in any way. if all five are worthy then we would even consider making all five into films," claimed Rohit Khattar,Founder/Chairman, Cinestaan Film Company. According to a Film London spokesperson,Cinestaan will invest up to 250,000 Pounds Sterling in the feature that gets greenlit through the Microwave international Shakespeare India competition and will also join Film London and British council in contributing to the crucial training program   and will also be an important cog in selecting/shortlisting filmmaking teams and ensure that the selected project has every chance of success.


Vishal Bhardwaj (Maqbool, Omkara and Haider), Ritesh Batra (The Lunchbox) and Vikas Bahl (Queen, Phantom Films) attended the launch of the partnership and call for applications in Mumbai and will act as professional industry mentors for a unique and groundbreaking opportunity which aims to bring the two industries closer together. 



Adrian Wootton, Chief Executive of Film London and the British Film Commission, said: “Being able to partner with Cinestaan Film Company is a spectacular result for the project, particularly since they share our own aims when it comes to training and supporting homegrown filmmakers. Bringing our talent together for the exciting Microwave International production represents an opportunity to build bridges between our two industries and create a unique production based on the works of the world’s most famous writer.” 



The international iteration of Film London’s award-winning initiative will unite Asian filmmaking talent from the UK and India. Five successful teams will be selected for Microwave’s acclaimed Microschool. This will give the writers, producers and directors from both countries the chance to hone their skills through an intensive programme of training, professional mentoring and advice on issues ranging from financing through to distribution. 

The ambition is to greenlight one successful project, which will draw from the work of William Shakespeare and be theatrically released in 2016 as part of Shakespeare 400 – a year-long cultural programme marking 400 years since the writer’s death. 

Said Rohit Khattar, Founder Chairman, Cinestaan Film Company “To partner with Film London for a film celebrating 400 years of Shakespeare is extremely exciting. Cinestaan is proud of India’s cinema heritage and this collaboration shall develop a unique production, uniting talent from India and the U.K.”

Aspiring wannabes, fledgeling and established filmmakers have a chance to apply to the fund by submitting adaptations of shakespeare in English/Hindi for the competition- the last date for which is 25th May 2015.

Microschool is a development boot camp established in 2006 by Film London’s Microwave team. Subsequent international Microschools have taken place in Croatia, Georgia, Stockholm, Indonesia and Malta.

Film London Microwave International: Shakespeare India is a feature film scheme bringing together emerging Asian filmmaking talent from the UK and India. Central to this training-through-production fund is Microschool International in Mumbai, funded by the British Council. The week-long intensive training programme will develop five exciting productions based on the works of Shakespeare, and will partner promising Asian talent from the UK and India, who will be mentored by leading industry professionals. 

With UK and Indian commercial investment, the ambition is to greenlight the most promising production, awarding the filmmaking team up to £500,000 to produce a feature for worldwide release as part of the global Shakespeare400 on Screen, celebrations marking 400 years since the writer’s death in 2016.

Following the global success of independent film The Lunchbox, the British film industry will join forces and strengthen links with Indian counterparts, in collaboration with Cinestaan, to train talent in both countries and deliver arthouse, independent content attractive to a global audience, utilising all available sources and avenues to build an audience and launch filmmaking talent both in front of and behind the camera. The scheme will champion transmedia opportunities, digital innovation and pioneering multi-platform release strategies to ensure the opportunity reaches the brightest talent working across the breadth of the sector, and large audiences worldwide.



Since 2006 Film London Microwave has launched bold new voices and visionary producers into the industry. Alumni of the scheme includes the BAFTA nominated Shifty team, writer/director Eran Creevy and producers Rory Aitken and Ben Pugh, who followed up their debut with Ridley Scott Executive Produced $5.5m Welcome to the Punch and currently finalising their latest feature Autobahn; Hong Khaou, writer/director of Lilting, which opened the World Dramatic Competition at Sundance 2014, taking away the award for Best Cinematography and released to critical acclaim in the UK, securing three BIFA nominations; and Jules Bishop, who’s comedy Borrowed Time found its audience through an innovative Direct Distribution model led by producer Olivier Kaempfer.

Microwave International: India builds on the success of Microschool International. Funded by the British Council, the intensive programme modelled on the Microwave training ‘boot camp’ has successfully been delivered in Croatia, Georgia and Sweden. This project aims to create a new and unique opportunity for Asian talent to tell international stories in a global marketplace.

About Cinestaan Film Company: A new entertainment company was launched by Rohit Khattar, a leading figure in entertainment and hospitality industry, with major investment by industrialist Anand Mahindra, to produce films and TV content. Cinestaan’s first subsidiary, the Cinestaan Film Co., announced its foray into film production with a three film agreement with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s ROMP Pictures. 


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