The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), on behalf of Mumbai, has applied for the tag of UNESCO Creative City of Film.
The corporation held meetings with members of the film industry and drafted an application in keeping with the criteria of the award and the UN sustainable development goals. The results are expected around December.
According to the UNESCO, the Creative Cities Network was created in 2004 to promote cooperation with and among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development. The 180 cities which currently make up this network work towards a common objective of placing creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their development plans at the local level and cooperating actively at the international level.
The network covers seven creative fields: crafts and folk arts, media arts, film, design, gastronomy, literature and music. From India, three cities have already been recognised as part of the network: Jaipur (crafts and folk arts), Chennai (music) and Varanasi (music). There are 13 ‘cities of film’, the first being Bradford in the U.K.
The BMC has submitted an elaborate application to the UNESCO, including a general application, impact of the designation on the sustainable development of the city, role of cinema in Mumbai’s history and development, a four-year action plan in line with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, estimated budget for implementing this plan, and photographs of film studios, film industry infrastructure. The application was submitted on behalf of the Mayor.
“Other Indian cities do not have as much infrastructure as Mumbai does when it comes to cinema. Mumbai is home to Bollywood. We tried to align all sustainable development goals in our application. We have also attached video testimonies from industry experts. Government of India (Ministry of Culture and Home Ministry) and UNESCO India office have also recommended our application. From India, some cities have applied in other categories, but we are the only one to do so in the film category. We are very positive,” a civic official closely involved in the process said.
Film director Rahul Rawail, who was involved in the initial process with the BMC, said, “I attended one meeting some time ago along with other industry people. I hope it works out. It will be a great thing for Mumbai.”
The next Creative Cities Network Annual Conference will be held in Santos, Brazil, in 2020.