Indian animation gets into spotlight at Annecy International Animation Festival in France

The Indian animation, visual effects and gaming sector was in the spotlight at the Annecy International Animation Festival (AIAF), with an Indian delegation led by Secretary, Information and Broadcasting, showcasing India’s strength in creating animation and VFX content for global audiences.

The Indian delegation was led by the Secretary, Information and Broadcasting, Apurva Chandra along with other personalities of the animation industry.

Opening up about India’s participation at the festival for the first time this year, Chandra said, “The animation, gaming, visual effects and comics (AVGC) sector in India is making progress with the adoption of world-class techniques and innovative technologies, coupled with a pool of immensely talented professionals. India is one of the few countries providing cash incentives to foreign companies for making AVGC content in India.”

He added that the incentives are the same as for shooting films in India. “This is a huge opportunity for companies to benefit from this. As a country, we are committed to providing incentives to the industry, as well as supporting pre and post-production activities in India,” he explained.

At the ongoing festival, Chandra met Michael Marin, director of AIAF and discussed the possibilities of strengthening India’s engagement at Annecy and the potential of collaboration between India and France to host an animation film festival in India.

Chandra inaugurated the India Pavilion, which has been designed on the theme of the Saraswati Yantra and also interacted with the Indian creative community who have won entries in the prestigious Annecy festival competition in 2023. Other participants from India included names such as Arvind Jeena, Nikita Prabhudesai Jeena, Upamanyu Bhattacharyya, Kalp Sanghvi along with industry seniors such as Saraswati Vani Balgum, Kireet Khurana, Biren Ghosh, Anil Wanvari and Anne Doshi.

The discussions also revolved around the various initiatives of the ministry with regards to the AVGC sector.

In recent times, India has emerged as a preferred destination of VFX and animation content for global production houses. The animation and VFX market in India was pegged to be valued at ₹109 billion in 2021, with the VFX business alone amounting to ₹50 billion. Now, the figure is expected to grow to ₹180 billion by 2024, after India’s participation at Annecy festival, it is believed that the sector will get a further push and attract international buyers as well.