FAM Trip to Chile from India: Bollywood Delegation Arrives in Chile to Explore Film Locations
This is the first action of the reactivation of the Chilean Film Commission, which seeks to consolidate the interest of foreign producers in filming in our country. The Indian delegation will visit Santiago, Viña del Mar, Valparaíso and Copiapó.
With the goal of positioning Chile as an attractive and competitive filming destination for international audiovisual productions, the Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage and ProChile, welcomed a Bollywood delegation--from the Indian film industry--composed of three professionals, who will be touring the Metropolitan, Valparaíso and Atacama regions until March 7.
This is about the Indian film producer and writer, Vivek Singhania, recognized for his contributions to both Bollywood and international cinema, where he participated in Namastey London (2007) and co-produced Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden (2012). He is accompanied by Sameer Dharmadhikari, an actor in Bollywood and television, who stood out in Raincoat (2004) and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (2015), in addition to being awarded as Best Actor at the City Cine Marathi Awards 2019, and Sanjay M. Khanduri, director of Ek Chalis Ki Last Local (2007) and Kismat Love Paisa Dilli (2012), among other movies, television series and streaming producers, and who has received awards at festivals in Mexico and New York.
FAM Trip to Chile from India.
The "FAM Trip to Chile from India" is the first initiative of the reactivation of the Film Commission Chile, an effort coordinated between ProChile and the Ministry of Culture, Arts, and Heritage. Its goal is to consolidate the interest of international producers in filming in our country, connecting them with the Chilean audiovisual industry and fostering future co-productions.
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The visit of the Indian professionals to Chile was organized during 2024 after the holding of the Chile Summit India event by ProChile, in the context of the official visit made by the Minister of Foreign Relations, Alberto van Klaveren, the Minister of Agriculture, Esteban Valenzuela, and 10 multisectoral unions, including the audiovisual.
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For Chile, India is a very relevant market in its strategy to diversify destinations and the offerings we bring to the world. Both countries have had a Commercial Deepening Agreement in place since 2017, preceded by a Partial Scope Agreement since 2007. These have allowed us to reach total shipments to India of US $2.528 billion by 2024; and make progress in non-copper, non-lithium exports, which last year reached US $779 million, an increase of 38% compared to 2023, and the highest since 2007.
"We are aware of the impact that Indian productions can have on promoting international destinations. We hope that this visit will mark the beginning of a fruitful relationship between both industries, and that we will soon be able to see Indian productions filmed in Chile, promoting not only our cultural identity, but also tourism, regional development, and the growth of our audiovisual industry," said Carolina Arredondo, Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage.
In turn, the General Director of ProChile, Ignacio Fernández, highlighted the revitalization of the Film Commission Chile and the realization of this familiarization trip with executives from India as the first milestone of this new instance of international promotion. Chile is not only a country of contrasts and extraordinary natural beauty, but also a territory that has conquered spaces in global cinematography, from the Atacama Desert to the Austral forests. Therefore, we want to continue to enhance the creative industries of Chile, showing India the strategic partner we can be in Latin America from different areas and through the diverse richness present in our country.
The authority of ProChile also commented that this trip of Indian professionals to Chile will have a second and third stage, with a visit of Chilean professionals to the Indian market to account for national audiovisual services, and the new implementation of a country promotion event in India, within the framework of the presidential visit next April.
From the Atacama Desert and San José Mine to Viña del Mar and Valparaíso.
In addition to meeting with authorities and trade representatives to learn about the incentives for filming in Chile, and also to bring the Chilean audiovisual industry closer to Bollywood, the Indian delegation will visit various locations in Viña del Mar and Valparaíso on Wednesday, March 5 and Thursday, March 6. On Friday, March 7, they will travel to the Atacama Region to tour the Sea of Dunes and the San José mine, where the 33 miners were trapped in 2010, a fact that made headlines around the world and was later turned into a film as a story of resilience and survival.
"We are looking forward to visiting some places in Chile and today we have met with people who are developing policies for a successful collaboration between both countries. Our intention is to bring some excellent scripts to Chile and we are also interested in collaborating with screenwriters to develop stories that can be filmed in Chile and at the same time, have commercial appeal in India," said Sanjay Khanduri.
Vivek Singhania stated that it is his first time in South America and that he is very eager to visit the locations, while Sameer Dharmadhikari added that we are truly excited to meet and collaborate with Chilean producers.
Alexandra Galvis, Executive Vice President of the Association of Film and Television Producers, added that "it is a milestone that shows what can be achieved through coordinated work between institutions. They have managed to establish a clear working framework to, hopefully, carry out our first collaboration between Chile and India."