Entertainment may not have been a key part of Emerging Kerala, but the lone proposal in the conclave related to the sector is emerging from the shadows to take the shape of a society that will set the stage for a variety of activities to take place, and rake in moolah.
Ernakulam District Collector P.I. Sheikh Pareeth said that a proposal to form a Cochin Gateway Entertainment Management Society to turn Kochi into a hub of the entertainment business was submitted at Emerging Kerala, involving a host of players led by government.
The District Collector will be secretary of the society while the Chief Minister has agreed to be chairman.
The players involved will be state tourism, culture and cinema departments and the Cochin Corporation and also film bodies like AMMA and MACTA.
“Processes for registering the society are on. An international film festival will be held in Kochi from December 15 to 22 as the first event of the society and Rs 1 crore has already been set apart for it,” said Mr Pareeth.
Actor Ravindar, popular villain of the eighties, will be a director of the society and will co-ordinate activities.
The society will create film bazaars and conduct trade shows and film festivals periodically, to trigger activities in buying and selling entertainment related gadgets and products.
Marketing of shooting locations which are presently under-utilised is another idea of the society.
Bringing international banners like Warner Bros for mutually beneficial projects is another aim of the society.