Inaugural 'WAVES Bazaar' to see deals worth Rs 1,000 crore: Govt

Mumbai, May 4 (IANS) The inaugural edition of ‘WAVES Bazaar’ was likely to see business transactions worth over Rs 1,000 crore, as deal-making was still underway, according to the government.

Organised under the umbrella of the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) here, the marketplace recorded business transactions exceeding Rs 800 crore across the Film, Music, Radio, VFX, and Animation sectors, said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in a statement.

The event concluded with resounding success, establishing itself as a premier platform for international business collaboration in the creative industries.

A key highlight of the Bazaar was the Buyer-Seller Market which witnessed over 3,000 B2B meetings, generating revenue upwards of Rs 500 crore, with additional deals expected to close in the coming days.

Curated screenings of films at the 80-seat venue drew enthusiastic responses and appreciation for the selected films. The Bazaar also helped emerging creators pitch their IPs to a global network of buyers and collaborators, generating significant interest and fostering new partnerships.

In a major achievement in international collaborations between India and New Zealand, Film India Screen Collective and Screen Canterbury NZ, led by Petrina D’Rozario, announced a collaborative proposal, inspired by WAVES, to launch the first-ever Indian Film Festival in New Zealand.

Paving the wave for an India-Russia collaboration, Only Much Louder (OML) CEO Tushar Kumar and Gazprom Media CEO Alexander Zharov have begun early talks on a potential Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on cross-cultural festivals and co-produce comedy and music shows in Russia and India.

The announcement of the Prime Video and CJ ENM Multi-Year Collaboration was a key highlight of the Bazaar as the strategic partnership was unveiled to distribute premium Korean content globally.

With its launch expected in June 2025 with ‘Head Over Heels’, the deal includes streaming in over 240 countries, featuring 28 subtitle languages and 11 dubbed versions.

With its impactful debut, 'WAVES Bazaar' has not only positioned itself as a global hub for creative collaboration but also set the stage for a new era of cross-border storytelling and industry transformation, said the government.

—IANS

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