How the Cinevesture festival is building a marketplace for cinema: ‘I view every film as a start-up’

In its inaugural edition in 2024, the Cinevesture International Film Festival looked at both the art and commerce involved in filmmaking. Apart from screening Indian and international movies, the festival in Chandigarh had a “marketplace” forum aimed at connecting filmmakers with investors.

This year’s edition, which will be held between March 20 and 23 in Chandigarh, is widening the scope of its market. The ProofPoint programme has been introduced for filmmakers who want to convert their short films into full-length features. The section comprises 17 films by dictors such as Kenny Basumatary, Nitin Baid, Mansi Jain and Mark Bennington.

InTheWorks Lab consists of six under-development projects being offered for mentorship by seasoned professionals, such as Shonali Bose, Sidharth Meer and Nitin Baid. Jaggi director Anmol Sidhu’s Kikran de Phul, Soumitra Ranade’s Sat Asat and Geetika Narang Abbasi’s Mahjabeen are among the titles in this programme.

Cinev Spotlight has six films, such as Abhilash Sharma’s Swaha and Sanju Surendan’s Khidki Gaav. Round two of Cinevesture will also offer 22 films in various stages of development to potential financiers.

Among the projects seeking investment are Radhika Apte’s Koyta, Honey Trehan’s The Blade Runner, Prateek Vats’s Chronicles of a Confession, Rishi Chandna’s Ghol, Ajitpal Singh’s Marx and Lenin, Nandita Das’s provisionally titled Avi & Smi, Bijukumar Damodaran’s Beyond The Border Lines and Shonali Bose’s Black Mountain Monpa.

Alongside these sections is a showcase of Indian and international cinema. Bina Paul...

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