Minister of State L. Murugan to lead delegation to Cannes Film Festival

Union Minister of State L. Murugan. File
| Photo Credit: M. Vedhan

Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L. Murugan would lead a delegation to Cannes International Film Festival this year, the Ministry said on May 14.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur will address the inaugural session through a video message to showcase India as a global hub for content creation at the 76th edition of the festival.

Mr. Murugan will be accompanied by filmmaker Guneet Monga of The Elephant Whisperers fame; Manushi Chillar, actor, model and the winner of the Miss World 2017; Esha Gupta, also an actor, and Kangabam Tomba, an acclaimed Manipuri actor whose restored film Ishanau is being screened in the Cannes Classic Section.

“The India Pavilion is being conceptualised and designed by the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, with the theme ‘Showcasing India’s Creative Economy’ to the global community. The pavilion design has been inspired by the Saraswati Yantra, the abstract representation of goddess Saraswati, keeper of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom and learning,” said the Ministry in a statement.

Four Indian films have made it to the official selection in the festival. Kanu Behl’s Agra will be his second film to have its world premiere at Cannes, at the Directors’ Fortnight. His 2014 debut film, Titli, was unveiled at the “Un Certain Regard” section. Anurag Kashyap’s Kennedy is being screened in Midnight Screenings and Nehemich in the La Cinef section of the Festival de Cannes.

These apart, several Indian films are slotted for screening in Marche du Films. A series of interactive sessions will be organised throughout the festival at India Pavilion.