Three Debutant Producers At Cannes Film Festival 2024 Indian films and filmmakers are gaining momentum at the Cannes Film Festival this year with some of the most promising and exciting films coming from their end. Here we pick the top three debutant film producers…

By Arundhuti Banerjee

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Three Debutant Producers At Cannes Film Festival 2024

As promising as the line up looks this year at the Cannes Film Festival for the Indian cinema, here we look at some of the debutant producers - from Bollywood stars and power couple Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal, tech entrepreneur Priya Samant to the Iran born Ladakhi filmmaker Maisam Ali - and their films at the festival.

Indian films and filmmakers are gaining momentum at the Cannes Film Festival this year with some of the most promising and exciting films coming from their end. Here we pick the top three debutant film producers…

Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal : Two most familiar names in the festival circuit for their presence as actors and award winning film, Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal is very excited to showcase their first film titled 'Girls Will Be Girls' as producers under their production house - Pushing Buttons Studios. The film will be featured under the Cannes Écrans Juniors category dedicated to international feature films that appeal to young audiences aged thirteen and over, introducing them to diverse themes, cultures, and cinematic art.

Expressing her excitement, Richa said, "We are thrilled to see 'Girls Will Be Girls' reach the Cannes Film Festival. This project is very close to our hearts, and the recognition it has received so far has been overwhelming. Producing this film has been a labor of love, and to see it resonate with audiences globally is incredibly fulfilling." The film is also the directorial debut of Suchi Talati featuring Preeti Panigrahi, Kesav Binoy Kiron, and Kani Kusruti.

Priya Samant : The founder and CEO of of Abris Inc. specialized in AI and block chain now turned into a producer along with Sandesh Sharda and Trupti Bhoir have come up with their first feature film Paro - The Untold Story of Slavery. The film addresses the issue of bride slavery and it features the Heeramandi famed actor Taha Shah Badussa. The trailer and poster of the film was released at the festival and being a debut producer, Priya is very excited. Talking about the film she said, "For me, every movie is like a product that has its target audience. So we want to explore the Cannes film festival as a market and we are looking for sales and distribution for the film. I think it is an advantage for us as entrepreneur to have a strategic approach to find the right business for a passion project like Paro - The Untold Story of Slavery."

Maisam Ali : The film 'In Retreat' is directed and produced by the debutant filmmaker Maisam Ali, selected for the Cannes Film Festival's Sidebar Programme Association for the Diffusion of Independent Cinema (ACID). This is the first Indian film to be selected for ACID. The film was screened atthe festival and is receiving positive reviews from the critics. Born in Iran, Maisam lived in Ladakh with his family when he was eight years old. He studied at the coveted FTII and coincidentally was also a batchmate of filmmaker PayalKapadia, whose film also was also selected for the main competition section at the festival this year.

77th Cannes Film Festival has started on May 14 and will end on May 25.

Arundhuti Banerjee

Former Content Editor

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