Indian confab attracts Italians.

The seventh annual Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) FRAMES conference, held from March 2628 in Mumbai, India attracted a record 1,500 participants from 20 countries, including 70 delegates from partner country Italy.

Union Information and Broadcasting minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi said, "The Indian film industry must become a unified force to market films overseas and overhaul the archaic 1952 Cinematograph Act, and give a boost to digitalization."

Italian minister of Communications Paolo Gentiloni said, "Italy was an early mover with technology as diverse as Internet and mobile phones, and was challenged by digitalization. Bridging the digital divide and speeding up technological innovation are the main challenges in the future. We can partner with India; and now is the right time to promote Indian and Italian locations for film production." Several Italian participants, like Doc/It president Alessandro Signetto, reinforced Italy's closer ties to India. Goffredo Bettini, president of the Rome Film Festival, announced that Indian films would be highlighted at its next edition.

Indian film companies were wooed by commissions from London (35 Indian films were shot there last year), Switzerland, Bavaria and Australia, all of which wanted to promote film production in their respective countries. But, Umbria's film commission sparked international interest with a glittering party promoting a region unknown to Indian directors. Mixing with Bollywood actors were Italian actress Anna Galiena, actor Giancarlo Giannini, Cinecitta Studio general director Manini Lamberto, Ferrari Paolo, president of Anica, and producer Adriano De Micheli. Opening ceremonies included a stirring performance by Oscar-winning conductor Nicola Piovani, where his music and films were highlighted.

An entertainment and media report released by FICCI and PriceWaterhouseCoopers predicted that Indian entertainment would reach $2.5 billion in 2011 from $1 billion in 2006. The report attributed rising income levels and consumerism to fueling the 18 percent compound annual growth rate, as last year really marked the start of convergence for the media industry. Internet advertising is expected to post the highest profit (+43 percent) in India, with the TV industry projected to grow by 22 percent; filmed entertainment by 16 percent; print media by 13 percent; radio by 28 percent; music by 4 percent; live entertainment by 16 percent and out-of-home advertising by 17 percent. Indian advertising spending showed exponential growth in 2006, increasing by 23 percent. According to the report, 2006 saw a maximum flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the entertainment industry with 13 proposals for FDI in media cleared by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and another 22 proposals being examined for clearance.

New players in India's entertainment scene and crowded seminars represented the changing face of new media. IBM U.S. director Richard Anderson predicted that, due to its growing youth population, more Indian media companies will invest in new technologies for the upcoming "cool kids" generation.

Media company UTV launched a world cinema DVD label under the Olive Palador collection that will start a TV channel, which will, for the first time screen world cinema in India.

At an anti-piracy session, John Malcolm, exec vp for Motion Picture Association's worldwide anti-piracy operations decried, "India lost $186 million to piracy in 2005 and must protect the growing media assets."

Perhaps it was its Italian accent, but the FICCI-FRAMES conference has developed an important international media flavor. As FICCI secretary Amit Mitra said, "India right now seems to be the flavor of the year--or decade."