MUMBAI: Sixteen producers, from the UK and India, have made it through to the Film London ‘London-Mumbai Production Tournament’ which takes place on 18-20 November in Mumbai.

The city is the hub of ‘Bollywood’ filmmaking and the event is an important part of Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone’s 7-day mayoral mission to encourage continued growth and collaboration between the London and India.

The Tournament, funded by Film London, UK Trade and Investment, and the Mayor of London, was designed by Olsberg SPI and is a two-and-half-day residential workshop that aims to provide its participants with the skills and contacts necessary to participate in co-financing and co-production between the UK and India.

But this is no traditional seminar situation – as well as project ‘surgeries’ and workshops, there are contests, quizzes and role-plays where producers will be teamed up to solve the sort of practical and business issues they may face whilst working across the two countries.

The producers taking part are, from the UK: Beth Sanders, Crowfoot Films; Deep Sehgal, Avatar Productions; Hal Vogel, Daybreak Pictures; Mark Bentley, Oxford Film and Television Company; Meneka Das, Oceansonic; Nikki Parott, Tigerlily Films; Nisha Parti, Parti Productions; Sulekha Nath and from India: Anjali Bhushan Nugyal, Apricot Sky; Elvis D’Silva, Thrillpill Design; Madhu Mantena, devilEnt; Manu Rewal, Duniya Vision (India) Pvt. Ltd.; Neerrav Ghosh, Tangerine Digital Entertainment; Rajan Khosa, Elephant Eye Productions Pvt. Ltd.; Sanjeev Sivan, Sanjeev Sivan Entertainment; Mubina Rattonsey, Santosh Sivan Films.

Advisors to the producers at the Tournament come from both countries. From the UK they are: Jeremy Gawade, Founder and Partner of Lee & Thompson Solicitors; James Shirras, Director of Legal and Business Affairs (Europe) For Film Finances; Chris Auty , Producer and Jane Wright, Commercial Affairs and General Manager of BBC Films. The advisors from India are: Parvinder Bhatia, Group COO, VTR plc/Prime Focus Group; Ashish Bhatnagar, iDream Production Ltd; Dina Dattani, Solicitor, Nishith Desai Associates; Sidhartha M. Jain, Producer.

Adrian Wootton, CEO of Film London, said: ‘London and Mumbai are two great cities with a shared passion for filmmaking, but often with different approaches and working practices. The Production Tournament will allow the participants to foster positive relationships and create a better understanding of how the industry operates across the two countries. Film London is delighted to be initiating an event that offers so much promise for the future of UK and Indian film co-production.’

Digby, Lord Jones of Birmingham, Minister of State for Trade and Investment, said:

“Having recently returned from India I saw first hand how much our two countries have in common. Film making is one of those traditions which we share and we’re already seeing an increasing cross-over of talent between our two industries, both on screen and off. We have a great deal to offer each other, which is why I am delighted that we’re supporting this important mission.”

Jonathan Olsberg, Chairman of Olsberg SPI, said: "This is an important time of opportunity for Indian and British producers to forge stronger relationships with each other. When we've run this event between other countries in the past, it has led to new partnerships and creative collaborations. We are particularly excited to bring the Tournament to Mumbai at this exciting time for the international film industry."