BANGALORE, February 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
Shri S R Patil, Hon'ble Minister for Planning and Statistics, IT, BT and Science and Technology, Government of Karnataka inaugurated the India's biggest animation, visual effects, gaming and comics film festival, ABAI Fest 2015, held annually in Karnataka. The fest is a confluence of Indian and global digital art industry and an ideal platform for artists from various backgrounds across the globe to come together to celebrate the art of digital storytelling and exchange ideas.
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The Minister said that, the media and entertainment industry in India is extremely vibrant and continues to demonstrate substantial growth year-on-year even through the global recessionary trends on many other sectors.
"As the industry transforms to the digital age, this industry is the best demonstration of the power of convergence. At the professional level, broadcasters, feature films and advertisers are embracing new tools and technologies that will accelerate the sector's growth even further and build scale," he said.
At the consumer level, social media and devices such as gaming consoles and smartphones are enabling the creation and delivery of all types of audio visual content at exponential growth rates, he added.
"We are glad to support the KAVGC Summit, which acts as a catalyst for mentorship and cross fertilization of ideas and we are also delighted that the ABAI FEST 2015 has been organised concurrently so that hundreds of students, professionals and aspiring entrants in this field of creative technologies can experience Bangalore's success in 2014 and be inspired to join in and participate in the further growth and opportunity, which this sector provides," the Minister said.
Mr. Srivatsa Krishna, IAS, Secretary, Department of IT BT and S&T said, "The media and entertainment market this year is already Rs. 1039 billion and this is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of over 14% for the next five years. Animation, visual effects and computer games are critical features in the creation of this new media. At the level of conventional TV and film, they act as a key driver of creativity and help in improving the quality through technology, innovations in hardware, software, data centres and connectivity."
He also noted, "Karnataka has been the first state to recognize that the sectors in digital media like animation and Vfx occupy an increasing percentage of the media budget. By 2020, AVGC will comprise approximately 15-18% of the total domestic Indian market. Currently, this sector is about 7-9% of the total M&E sector. Karnataka's pedigree, in being a front-runner in science and technology, as well as being a world leader in the IT-enabled industries, makes it a first choice location for players looking to participate in this sector."
"We are well into executing the country's first AVGC policy and together with ABAI, the industry body for this sector, we have already embarked on various initiatives to increase the participation of this industry within Bangalore and the state," Krishna added.
Ms. Tanusree Deb Barma, Director of Information Technology and Biotechnology, Government of Karnataka and MD, KBITS said, "The growth in Bangalore and Karnataka for animation services, visual effects services and computer gaming developers has been the most prolific compared to any other state in India during the past five years. This puts us in an ideal position to make even more ambitious plan."
"Our current projects under implementation includes an innovative 'train the trainer' initiative in Bangalore; the MoUs for 6 digital arts centres and the participation of small, medium and large industries at various international and local industry such as Annecy (the world's largest animation festival), Children's Media Conference at UK, FICCI Frames in Mumbai and the hosting of several workshops and events within the state including in Mysore and Mangalore," she said.
"2015 will take our involvement in the AVGC sector to the next level and I am pleased to announce that we have commissioned the global bid for an AVGC production and post-production lab to be set-up in Bangalore on the Public-Private Partnership model. We have engaged with Grant Thornton through ABAI to be the transaction advisors and conclude this project on behalf of the Government of Karnataka. The project is estimated to be approximately Rs. 20-24 crore, subject to the final negotiations between the promoters," she added.
Mr. Biren Ghose, President, ABAI, said, "Bangalore has an amazing showcase with companies such as Technicolor, DreamWorks Animation, and Xentrix in Animation; MPC and TATA Elxsi in Visual Effects; Dhruva Interactive and many others in computer gaming. These companies have executed projects with and for the best studios and publishers in the world establishing Bangalore as one of the prime hubs for the sector."
We are delighted to welcome Mark Benson, the global MD of the Moving Picture Company, better known as MPC, who brings over two decades of experience in the business to deliver his keynote this evening. I congratulate ABAI on organising this prestigious event and making it a major feature in the calendar of events for this industry, he added.
Mr. Hanif Mohammed, Treasurer, ABAI proposed a vote of thanks.
About ABAI Fest 2015:
India's biggest Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics film festival, held annually in Karnataka, India, with the support of Government of Karnataka, is a confluence of Indian and global digital art industry. The fest is an ideal platform for artists from various backgrounds across the globe to come together to celebrate the art of digital storytelling and exchange ideas. This edition of fest will witness contests with international participation, workshops, film screenings and content from the best of the film festivals from various countries and game zones.
Highlights:
- Global content from Film Festivals
- More than 50 hours of animated films
- Making of Krish, Ra-one, Chennai Express, Happy New Year, Penguins of Madagascar and other Oscar-winning visual effects movies
- Game zones and Play Stations
- Premier and launch of animation movie 'Slick Rick' and TV Serial 'Rise of the Valiant - Indrajeet'
KAVGC Summit 2015 is India's primary forum for workshops, seminars and master classes on animation, VFX, gaming and comics. It is an ideal platform for knowledge sharing, business development and networking. The summit's power-packed audience has always included senior government officials, trade body representatives, CEOs, entrepreneurs and senior managements.
Highlights:
- Clinics- which are targeted discussion forums created within the summit are to enable knowledge/skill exchange.
- Ignite- Speed pitching with your favourite broadcaster to pitch your properties and ideas.
- Haat- a market and B2B area with free stalls for IP sellers.
About ABAI:
ABAI formed in 2006, is a non-profit association formed to promote the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) business activities in India. ABAI is committed to developing the industry through collaboration between all constituencies both local and international and helping develop the eco-system for the digital creative content industry. In Karnataka, it has already become a 'nodal connect point' between the industry and government-prime mover in both recommending and executing the KAVGC policy.
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