Ajit Rai

After the much-hyped Kiran Rao and Aamir Khan's film 'Laapataa Ladies' was dropped from the competition in the first round of the Oscar Awards, Abhay Sinha, President of Indian Motion Pictures Producer Association (IMPA), the largest organization of film producers in India, has said that from now IMPA will also seek a role in selection of official entries to the coveted award.

Sinha says Federation International d'Art Photographique (FIAP), the world's largest organization recognized by UNESCO, has granted membership to IMPA. In India, only the Film Federation of India (FFI) and National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) are members, and both have not paid their annual membership to FIAP for years. The International Federation of Photographic Art recognizes international film festivals worldwide based on its set criteria. Hundreds of international film festivals like Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Toronto, and Busan were recognized by this organization.

In India, this organization has recognized only four international film festivals - Goa, Kerala, Bangalore and Kolkata.

Sinha says that after becoming a member of FIAP in June 2024, IMPA is also authorized to send entries to the Oscar Awards. So far, the Film Federation of India sent entries for the Oscars which are cleared by a jury.

Abhay Sinha says that the strike rate of the films sent by the Film Federation of India for the Oscar award is poor. In the last 97 years of Oscar Awards, only three Indian films have reached the final round - Mehboob Khan's Mother India (1957), Mira Nair's Salaam Bombay (1988), and Ashutosh Gowariker-Aamir Khan's Lagaan (2001).

In the 55th International Film Festival of India held in Goa recently, IMPA participated on a large scale for the first time and deployed a luxury floating cruise. IMPA specially invited Bertrand Moulier (Senior Advisor, International Affairs), an expert of the Federation International d'Art Photographique (FIAP) on the copyright of films. This was conducted by IMPA's head of international affairs Yusuf Sheikh. IMPA also set up its stall in the Film Bazaar. For five days, trailers and posters of dozens of films were launched on IMPA's cruise, networking parties were held and activities related to the cinema market were conducted.

IMPA participated in the 77th Cannes Film Market last year, keeping in mind that thousands of small filmmakers can’t afford to showcase their works globally.

This year an IMPA delegation will participate in the 75th Berlin International Film Festival (13-23 February 2025) to explore the possibilities of the international market for Indian cinema.

Established in 1937, IMPA is the oldest organization of Indian filmmakers with about 40 thousand members.

Remember that even though Payal Kapadia's film was not selected for the Oscar Award by the jury of the Film Federation of India, it got two nominations for the prestigious Golden Globe Award - in the category of Best Foreign Language Film and Best Director. Payal Kapadia has become the first female filmmaker to be nominated for the Golden Globe Award.

The statement of Jahnu Barua, the chairman of the jury of the Film Federation of India, which sends India's official entry for the Oscar Award, was published that this film is technically weak. His statement came when his selected Kiran Rao's film 'Laapta Ladies' was eliminated from the Oscar Award competition in the first round. In response to his statement, there was a flood of statements from filmmakers like Hansal Mehta, Sudhir Mishra, etc.

IMPA President Abhay Sinha says that we have to adopt a sensitive attitude towards the quality of cinema, only then Indian cinema will be able to make its place at the world level. Looking at the controversy over nominations from India in the Oscar Awards this year, he says it is high time that IMPA must intervene in this.

Born in a village in Bhojpur district of Bihar, Abhay Sinha is currently the biggest producer of Bhojpuri films. He has produced more than fifty films so far. He has shot many of his Bhojpuri films in London.