Neo Film Republic's (NFR) KOCHI FESTIVAL is a 4-month long international short film, documentary and animation film festival with regional flavours, spread with exciting and engaging activities for all film enthusiasts, aspirants and professionals. The NFR - KOCHI FESTIVAL consists of 7 streams and a 3-day summit as the concluding ceremony. The festival is a NEO MEDIA TRUST INITIATIVE organised by NEO FILM SCHOOL and is scheduled from June to October 2024.

The 7 streams of the NFR KOCHI Festival will start at various locations including colleges, theatres and cultural centres in various cities from the month of June. The 3-day NEO FILM REPUBLIC GLOBAL SUMMIT, the concluding event of the NFR-KOCHI Festival, is "All About Film As A Profession & Business". It will be from October 4 to 6, 2024 (Friday to Sunday), at Hotel Taj Vivanta and Ernakulam Marine Drive Walkway.

The Name of the Festival: NFR - Neo Film Republic

The name NEO FILM REPUBLIC (NFR) is inspired by The Republic, one of the most significant works of philosophy written by Plato, the ancient Greek philosopher, around 380 BCE. It is a Socratic dialogue that explores various themes such as virtues, justice, happiness, the ideal state, the nature of the soul, and the philosopher's and artist’s role in society. The central question of this Socratic dialogue is: "What is Justice?" 

The Theme of the Festival: Virtues. Justice. Happiness.

VIRTUES: Plato in his book, The Republic, proposes that in a ‘JUST SOCIETY’ each person pursues VIRTUES THROUGH EDUCATION AND COMMUNAL LIVING.

JUSTICE: Through a series of discussions in this book, Socrates constructs an elaborate analogy between the ideal state and the human soul, suggesting that JUSTICE IN THE INDIVIDUAL MIRRORS JUSTICE IN THE STATE. 

HAPPINESS: The Republic also states that BY BEING JUST, ONE BECOMES HAPPY. It depicts the importance of an artistic provolution and philosophical governance that can create an ideal state where HAPPINESS prevails.

Putting together, a republic becomes an ideal state when each person pursues virtues to do justice to fellow beings spreading happiness around them.

The 7 Streams of the NFR Kochi Festival

There are 7 streams and a concluding 3-day summit at the end of the 4-months long festival.

1. NFR Academy Awards
   An international short film, documentary and animation film competition. The most unique characteristic of this competition is that the selection process is done by the method and procedures followed at the Oscars so that our makers also become acquainted with these global procedures. 
2. NFR Global Film Pitch Festival
   A pitching festival for short films, documentary and animation films. The Pitching Festival starts with the submission of scripts from filmmakers followed by grooming workshops and finally pitching to the investors/producers in the PITCHROOM.
3. NFR Global Film Investors Club
   Equity. Grants. Funds. Level up Learning Platform of Film as a Business. Investors could be anyone who is ready to invest a minimum of ₹1,00,000. 
4. NFR Global Film Market
   Curators. Production Houses. Trade fair. Platform of collaborations and co-productions for designing the project arc till successful accomplishment of the film as a produce. Trade fair include technology, products and accessories for the film industry. 
5. NFR Global Film Conclaves
   Workshops. Conferences. Seminars. Collective learning platforms for technology, aesthetics, management, profession and business of films at various locations including colleges, skill parks, cultural centres and movie theatres.
6. NFR Benchmark Film Screenings
   Screening of the selected films in the competition and other benchmark films.
7. NEO-48 Filmmaking Contest
   A 48-hour extempore film making contest. The filmmakers should script, shoot, complete the film and submit within 48 hours, on the given topic.
8. Neo Film Republic Global Summit
   The 3-day NFR summit is all about "Film As A Profession & Business" (Please note that this event is fully focussed on short film, animation, and documentary films ONLY). Various stakeholders in the Media and Entertainment Industry will come together to share insights, discuss trends and explore growth opportunities. There will be Conclaves, Panel Discussions, Screenings, Investor Meets, a Co-Production Market, a Trade Fair, announcements of the awards of competitions and contests held and the Award ceremony. The day-wise dedication in the Neo Film Republic Global summit from October 4 to 6, 2024 is as follows:
   1. Day 1: VIRTUES is dedicated to FILM EDUCATION. Topics include Virtual Film Production, Animation, VFX, Gaming, Comics – Extended Realities (AVGC-XR) Education.
   2. Day 2: JUSTICE is dedicated to WOMEN IN FILMS. Topics include opportunities existing for women entrepreneurs, and women professionals in the Film Ecosystem. 
   3. Day 3: HAPPINESS is dedicated to FILM AS A PROFESSION & BUSINESS. Topics include National & International Co-Productions, National & International Festivals, and Emerging Global Market for Short films, Animation and Documentary.

Demographic Segments in Focus

The following are the 10 target demographic segments in focus for the NFR Festival:

1. Students
2. Women 
3. Current young, senior, veteran professionals in film industry
4. Young entrepreneurs and professionals from industries other than films
5. Veteran and senior entrepreneurs, investors and professionals in industries other than films
6. Officials of Government, Statutory bodies. 
7. Artists and collectives of various streams like music, dance, painting, photography, sculpting
8. Senior citizens
9. Film enthusiasts
10. General public

About the The Mission NEO FILM REPUBLIC

NEO FILM REPUBLIC is a Neo Media Trust initiative. Neo Film Republic is the third mission of the movement named Neo Film Provolution. The four missions of the movement Neo Film Provolution are the following:

• Neo Film School
• Neo Film Commune
• Neo Film Republic 
• Neo Film Universe

About The Movement NEO FILM PROVOLUTION

In this era where audio-visual language becomes the global language of humankind, NEO FILM PROVOLUTION envisages bringing positive changes to build a progressively sustaining, broad-based, professional ecosystem in the Media and Entertainment Industry. These changes have already started from various quarters of the globe and they are progressing too. 

NEO FILM PROVOLUTION is being built upon a hope that this change can be much broader, deeper and faster if it’s more collective. Thinking that it cannot be a slow process as natural Evolution nor a sudden change as a Revolution, the name PROVOLUTION is given for this mission.

NEO FILM PROVOLUTION is a dynamic middle, blending both extremes of art and management through technology and people, designing a fruitful productive environment for a CREATIVE ECONOMY and taking it to the grassroots level of society.

The Four Mission Objectives of NEO FILM PROVOLUTION

1. Educating and Grooming Talented Professionals with Confidence to Create. Confidence to Create consists of the following 3 layers of confidence:
   1. Financial Confidence
   2. Technical Confidence
   3. Social Confidence
      This happens through NEO FILM SCHOOL.
2. Spreading awareness about the emerging CREATIVE ECONOMY through FILM AS A PROFESSION & BUSINESS to various strata of the population, globally, so that talented individuals choose FILM as their best career option confidently.
   This happens through NEO FILM COMMUNE.
3. Enable Creative Individuals to connect, participate, contribute and enjoy the fruits of this emerging economic ecosystem of Creative Economy. 
   This will happen through NEO FILM REPUBLIC.
4. Design a technology-supported Efficient Aggregating Production Protocol with tools ensuring Desired Quality, time-bound Delivery, Appropriate Budget and Prompt Timing. Build operational companies for Film & Media Content Creation and its Production to Marketing and Exhibition, where the business of Film making and Media Content creation is modelled with Professional Business Equations with virtues of Transparency and Collaborative Intelligence.
   This will take place through NEO FILM UNIVERSE.

We wholeheartedly welcome everyone who finds these objectives relevant and also those who share this vision, to participate in the NFR-KOCHI FESTIVAL, https://nfrkochifestival.com/

Believe in a renaissance, because it is possible!

Dr. Jain Joseph, FTII (Pune), IIM (Ahmedabad)
Festival Director, NFR Kochi Festival, Neo Film Republic
May 30, 2024