India showcases its creative economy at France's Annecy International Animation Festival

New Delhi [India], June 15 : India for the first time participated at the Annecy International Animation Festival in France and has showcased the strength its creative economy holds.

An Indian delegation led by the Secretary of Information and Broadcasting Apurva Chandra with eminent personalities of the animation industry has participated in the ongoing animation festival.

India has lately emerged as a preferred destination for VFX and animation content for global production houses. India's animation and VFX market was pegged to be valued at Rs 109 billion in 2021, with the VFX business alone amounting to Rs 50 billion.

The government, citing an E&Y report, said these figures are expected to grow to Rs 180 billion by 2024.

India's participation at Annecy assumes importance as the country showcases its abilities in the sector to international buyers.

"India is one of the few countries providing cash incentives to foreign companies for making AVGC content in India. 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," said information and broadcasting secretary Chandra.

Secretary Chandra met the director of the festival Michael Marin 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 also inaugurated the India Pavilion and interacted with the Indian creative community who have won entries in the prestigious Annecy festival competition in 2023.

Young creators Arvind Jeena, Nikita Prabhudesai Jeena, Upamanyu Bhattacharyya, Kalp Sanghvi along with industry seniors Saraswati Vani Balgum, Kireet Khurana, Biren Ghosh, Anil Wanvari and Anne Doshi were present at the festival.