Mumbai: Canada-based production company Format Factory is the first global studio to avail the incentive scheme for the audio-visual co-production & shooting of foreign films in India in record time. The scheme was announced by union minister of information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur in May 2022 during his visit at the 75th Cannes film festival.
As per the scheme, any foreign studio that takes up production work in India can avail a cash incentive of up to 30 per cent of the production cost, capped at Rs 2 crore or $250,000. An additional bonus of Rs 50 lakhs, or $62,527, is available if the production house employs 15 per cent or more of its workforce in India.
Format Factory worked with the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) and the Film Facilitation Office (FFO) to obtain permission, and will apply for the incentive scheme.
Raising fund
In October 2021, Format Factory raised $50 million in a funding round led by First Fund with plans to create high-end global content, focusing on South Asian originals. It will operate under a studio-model, where it will put up the initial investment to create content, mostly outside of India, and then look for buyers, mainly over-the-top (OTT) platforms.
The studio was not only eligible for the 30 per cent incentive scheme, but also for the five per cent bonus because it employs more than 15 per cent of its workforce in India. It will begin filming its first show on 21 July. It will be an improvised comedy series with popular comedian Suresh Menon.
Format Factory business head Subhadarshi Tripathy said, "It is fantastic how quickly the government worked to facilitate the process to avail the incentive scheme. I would like to thank the ministry of information and broadcasting and the government of India for their endeavour to create an enabling ecosystem for both domestic and international filmmakers. At Format Factory, we are completely focusing on South Asian content and distributing it globally. The content will be made in India with a global lens. There are so many stories in India that can be told.”
First Fund founder Samarth Chandola said, “I am really happy about the leaps Format Factory has taken from its inception last year to actually being on the floor now. India is an important market for us given the explosion in content demand that has happened recently. We are happy and thankful to the I&B ministry and the government for the encouragement and all the help through FFO. I am looking forward to a long and entertaining production in India.”
