BAFTA Breakthrough India Initiative Announces its Jury – Global Bulletin

Jamie Lang
·3 min read
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In today’s Global Bulletin, BAFTA announces the jury for BAFTA’s Breakthrough India initiative; BFI Southbank outlines several seasons for its reopening; the Iron Throne is heading to Leicester Square in London; and Tony Orsten and Charlie Caminada launch Grand Scheme Productions.

JURY

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BAFTA and Oscar-winning Indian composer A.R. Rahman (“Slumdog Millionaire”) is the jury chair for the BAFTA’s Breakthrough India initiative. Jury members include actor Anupam Kher (“New Amsterdam”); former BAFTA Breakthrough and games producer Charu Desodt; BAFTA chair and TV producer Krishnendu Majumdar; filmmakers Mira Nair (“A Suitable Boy”) and Shonali Bose (“The Sky is Pink”); Monika Shergill, VP, content, Netflix India; and Siddharth Roy Kapur, producer at Roy Kapur Films (“Yeh Ballet”).

The BAFTA will honor ten emerging talents instead of five as originally planned, due to an “overwhelming number of quality applications.” The chosen participants will receive one-on-one mentoring and career guidance, full voting BAFTA membership and access to BAFTA events and networking opportunities, both in the U.K. and abroad. Honorees will be revealed in May.

DEVELOPMENT

Former Paramount Pictures and HIT Entertainment executives Tony Orsten and Charlie Caminada have unveiled their new company Grand Scheme Productions, where the two will develop and produce commercial narrative content for TV and film. The pair has recruited veteran consultants Graham Smith and Mark Robson of Grand Scheme Media to prepare a launch slate of market-ready ideas for the U.K. domestic and international marketplaces.

Orsten and Caminada will oversee the company’s pipeline of projects, developed by Smith and Robson. Grand Scheme Productions has also hinted at its first production out of the gates, a drama series based on Jerome Caminada, a Manchester detective responsible for establishing many modern police methods and practices.

CINEMA

The British Film Institute’s BFI Southbank, a leading repertory cinema in the U.K., will reopen on May 17, provided that restrictions are relaxed as currently planned. To celebrate the reopening, a program celebrating the joy of the big screen experience has been curated, titled Dream Palace; Movies for the Big Screen.

Other upcoming seasons at the complex include Her Voice: Black Women From the Spotlight to the Screen and Robert Altman: American Outsider. In addition to the three seasons, several COVID releases will receive extended runs at the cinema, including “First Cow,” “Nomadland” and “Ammonite,” as well as the BFI release of “After Love” and re-release of Altman’s “Nashville.”

STREAMING

Shahid VIP, the subscription-based service of leading MENA streaming platform Shahid, has partnered with Samsung Electronics to add a dedicated Shahid VIP-branded button to the remotes for all new Samsung Smart TVs launched in MENA this year. Additionally, any customers who purchase a new Samsung Smart TV during that time will be given a free subscription to Shahid VIP of 3-12 months, depending on the TV model and location of purchase. The move is a continuation of an already fruitful relationship between the two companies after Samsung was the first TV manufacturer to launch the Shahid VIP Smart TV App.

EVENTS

A decade after “Game of Thrones” launched, changing the landscape of peak TV, its iconic Iron Throne is headed to London’s Leicester Square where it will be the tenth addition to the Scenes in the Square statue trail. Coming this summer, the depiction of the Throne will join other iconic scenes and characters such as Wonder Woman, Singin’ in the Rain and Batman. The statue’s arrival coincides with a 4k Ultra HD release of the HBO series and the first time that individual seasons are available to buy.

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