Governor General of Canada chairs roundtable at Whistling Woods

Dignitaries from Canada visit film school campus to discuss co-productions between two countries

Whistling Woods International recently hosted a roundtable discussion to commemorate the Indo-Canadian treaty for co-productions. His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada was the chairperson of the discussion where the future of audio-visual co-production between the two countries was the topic of interest.

With a view to facilitate creative and intellectual exchange between the countries, over 30 members of the Indian film and media industry met with a 16 member delegation from Canada at the Whistling Woods Campus. The discussions were rife with the possibility of increasing film trade through co-production to provide Indo-Canadians with more films from their motherland.

Filmmaker & Chairman of Whistling Woods, Subhash Ghai said, “Being an international film school, Whistling Woods has always striven to strike a balance between Indian and World Cinema. The co-production treaty is a path-breaking move towards exchange of concepts, technology, creativity and intellect. Over the years, our institute has grown to become an incubation centre where the next generation filmmakers are nurtured. Today’s discussion with the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada is one more step towards building the Indian Media and Entertainment Industry.”

Whistling Woods has been in the forefront of Indo-Canadian linkage which was one of the reasons the campus was selected to host the discussion. In 2013, a collective of students and faculty from Whistling Woods teamed up with counterparts from the University of Calgary to co-produce a film. Such cultural exchanges have helped build a bond between the two countries and have been lauded for being one of many stimuli for creative and intellectual exchange.