The Indian Government is committed to employment generation, boosting the creator economy, mentoring outstanding artists and encouraging youngsters to achieve excellence in the field of films, Minister for Information & Broadcasting Anurag Thakur said yesterday.

He was speaking at the launch of the ‘48-Hour Film-making Challenge’ for winners of ’75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow'(CMOT) initiative at the 54^th International Film festival of India (IFFI) in Panaji, Goa.

Applauding the role of ‘Creative Minds of Tomorrow’ in fostering a strong creative community of passionate individuals, the Minister congratulated the top 75 participants of the initiative selected through a rigorous jury process.

The Minister explained that the CMOT project is part of the government’s effort to encourage and mentor young minds from far-flung corners of the country.

“This year’s 75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow hail from as many as 19 different States and Union Territories of India, including places such as Bishnupur (Manipur), Jagatsinghpur (Odisha), and Sardarpur (Madhya Pradesh). The initiative aims to provide them with unparalleled opportunities in the realm of media and entertainment,” he added.

The Minister also shared achievements from previous editions of CMOT, showcasing the impact of the initiative on participants’ careers. Notable mentions included Subarna Dash whose animated film got featured at Toronto International Film Festival 2023 and youngsters like Bhasker Vishwanathan and Digantra Bose who co-edited and edited films that feature in Indian Panorama at IFFI this year.

Film production is not only about content creation, it is also about marketing and distributing it to a larger audience. To encourage and enable networking and collaboration amongst India’s young minds and the industry, the Minister informed, IFFI is organizing a Talent Camp, where the 75 Creative Minds will get to meet, interact and connect with representatives of several well-known production houses, studios and OTT platforms.

The event saw the presence of guests including Carter Pilcher, CEO and Founder of Shorts TV; Dennis Ruh, Director of the European Film Market; Jon Goldwater, Executive Producer of The Archies and Neerja Sekhar, MIB Additional Secretary, apart from several other senior government officials.

The ‘48 Hour Challenge’ is organized as part of CMOT by the National Film Development Corporation in association with Shorts TV.