India sends first official delegation to Canada in a year for TIFF

The delegation of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting was headed by a Joint Secretary. India also had an official presence at the festival with a Bharat Pavilion at TIFF’s Industry Centre.

Among the meetings that the delegation undertook were with Telefilm Canada, a Canadian government agency which promotes, finances and develops the screen-based industry in the country.

They also met with representatives from Ontario Creates, the provincial agency which has a “mandate is to be a catalyst for economic development, investment and collaboration in Ontario’s creative industries including the music, book, magazine, film, television and interactive digital media sectors, both domestically and internationally,” according to its website. Other bilaterals at the international festival included that with Australian officials.

This was the fist formal visit by an Indian delegation since Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement at the House of Commons on September 18 last year that there were “credible allegations” of a potential link between Indian agents and the killing of pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia, three months earlier.

That led to a rupture in the relationship which has prevented public bilateral engagement between the two countries, as India described Trudeau’s statement as “absurd” and “motivated.”

However, the presence at TIFF was also marred as six officials from the National Film Development Corporation or NFDC, could not participate at the festival as they were either denied visas or the travel documents were processed too late.

TIFF had actually partnered with NFDC for the world premiere of a high-quality digital restoration of the Raj Kapoor classic Awara, which was screened on Friday. That film was presented by director Shekhar Kapur, who is also the director of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI).