The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is stumped by the United Kingdom's no-show at the International Film Festival of India in Goa.
"It's extraordinary that we are not being represented at the film festival. I also plan to ask organisers why there is not a single delegate from the UK Film Council here," BAFTA Chairman Simon Relph said. The 65-year-old filmmaker was here to speak at the Master Classes sessions organised on the sidelines of the film festival.
"Mike Leigh's Vera Drake is the only film with British connections and that too is being shown here as it's a UK-France co-production," he said.
Relph also sounded a note of caution regarding the film co-production treaty India will be signing with Britain on December 5 this year.
"The UK government is in the process of changing rules relating to film co-production so I am not overly enthusiastic about the treaty although it's been long overdue," he said.
"However, the resulting tax-breaks should be an advantage for filmmakers in both countries. There's a real market for these films in UK and India," he added.
The British filmmaker said although he's not expecting a spate of film co-productions hitting the market immediately after the treaty, he hoped the UK would gradually become a gateway for Indian films to be released in Europe.
"At present, not many of our films are shown here in India. And the Indian films shown in UK are only screened in areas where the Asian community is in a majority," he added.
According to Relph, Indian film producers are better off as compared to their British counterparts. "In India, 90 per cent of the film industry's revenue comes from Indian films and just 10 per cent from Hollywood while in our case it's just the opposite," he said.
This made it more difficult for UK producers to raise money for making films, he added.