British Film Institute hails new NFDC pact to boost co-productions, joint projects

London, Oct 8 (PTI) The British Film Institute (BFI) on Wednesday hailed a pact agreed with the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) during Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to Mumbai on Wednesday.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreed in the presence of BFI Governors Monica Chadha and Andrew Smith, part of Starmer’s trade delegation, is expected to boost co-productions and joint projects between both countries.

It is designed to promote two-way professional exchanges through industry events and networking platforms and prioritise skills development and education by sharing best practices in film training.

“This landmark agreement between the BFI and India’s National Film Development Corporation marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in the UK-India cultural collaboration,” said UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy.

“From co-productions and film festivals to skills exchanges and shared stories, this partnership will open new opportunities for filmmakers and bring our world-class storytelling to fresh and diverse audiences in both countries,” said the British Indian minister.

The news came after Starmer’s tour of the Yash Raj Films (YRF) Studio in Mumbai, where he announced that “Bollywood is back in Britain” with three new YRF productions to be shot in locations across the UK from early 2026, creating over 3,000 jobs.

“The UK and India are two great filmmaking and film loving nations with deep cultural ties and this trip fuels an exciting new future together,” said BFI Chief Executive Ben Roberts.

“Our respective governments recognise that our screen industries working closer unlocks opportunities to strengthen cultural diversity, support industry growth and expand audience engagement – and our new MoU is designed to help make this happen," he said.

"We welcome more production from India to the UK to build further collaboration and co-production between our nations for us all to benefit economically and culturally,” he added.

Filmmaker and founder of Bend It Networks Gurinder Chadha and CEO of the British Film Commission Adrian Wootton are among others representing Britain’s film industry as part of Starmer-led “largest-ever” trade mission to India made up of 125 businesses and entrepreneurs.

BFI, a cultural charity and Britain’s leading film organisation, also highlighted the start of its annual London Film Festival this week which features an archive special presentation of the 1975 classic ‘Sholay’ and Anuparna Roy’s debut ‘Songs of Forgotten Trees’ beyond Bollywood.

While the BFI and NFDC have been actively collaborating since 2021, the new MoU is aimed at formalising and providing a strategic direction to their work over the years.

A separate MoU has also been signed between Pact, the UK’s screen sector trade body, and the Producers Guild of India (PGI) to support independent production companies and producers and encourage greater collaboration across the screen industries.

“At a time of increased political cooperation between the UK and India, with our shared history and such a rich source of inspiring stories, it feels that the time is right to do all we can to bring together our two world leading production sectors for even more successful collaborations,” said Ross Lewis, Pact’s Head of International Projects.

As part of this MoU, both countries have committed to an “education piece” about what each country has to offer, and to share best practices, market intelligence, reports on tax credits, co-production information and relevant organisations in each territory.

“I am confident that our relationship with Pact will act as a catalyst in that process and we look forward to working closely with our colleagues at Pact to realise the immense potential of India-UK creative collaborations,” said Shibasish Sarkar, PGI President.

According to official estimates, India as one of the fastest growing screen industries in the world across film, television and gaming is the second largest source of inward investment and contributes 118 million pounds a year to the UK economy. PTI AK GSP GSP