The KINFRA Film and Video Park, which will house India's first SEZ for animation and gaming.
A few weeks ago,
Accel Animation Studios, a division of Accel Transmatic Ltd., became the latest entrant at the KINFRA Film and Video Park (KFVP), the first infotainment industrial park in the country, set on 75 acres (30 hectares) of countryside at Kazhakuttam on the outskirts of
Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. The company plans to set up a state-of-the-art animation studio and a motion picture facility.
It has tied up with US-based Long Tale International to develop, co-produce and distribute animation movies for the global market. Accel joins other prominent names such as Chennai-based Prasad Labs, which now processes almost the entire output of the Malayalam film industry within the Park.
The KFVP is a fully owned subsidiary of the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (KINFRA), a statutory body established by the Government of Kerala in 1993. The Union Ministry of Commerce has given KINFRA approval to set up India's first product-specific Special Economic Zone (SEZ) for the animation and gaming industry on 25 acres within the KFVP.
It also plans to establish an international animation school in 4.5 acres within the SEZ.
The KFVP has been asked to identify a private partner to set up the school, which is estimated to cost Rs.20 crore. A third of this will come from the Government of India and the balance shared equally by the private sector partner and KINFRA.
"There is a dearth of trained animators not only in Kerala but in India as a whole. The animation school will hopefully overcome this disadvantage, and also trigger further investments in the animation and gaming industry," said S. Ramnath, Managing Director of the KFVP. The school will train `industry-ready' animators and will offer graduate-equivalent diploma and short-duration certification programmes. The Park already offers post-production facilities like dubbing, editing, recording, re-recording and mixing.
"The investment opportunities offered by the KFVP are immense and growing," said A.S. Suresh Babu, Managing Director of KINFRA. "You can choose from a wide range of investment
options such as video studios, digital cinema facilities, animation and special effect studios, DVD and CD replication service providers, teleport facilities and outdoor shooting facilities."
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