India’s top film industry leaders are in Israel this week to explore joint ventures and scout location sites. The nine Bollywood moguls include the heads of some of India’s largest and most lucrative film and television companies.

Their visit coincides with the Jerusalem International Film Festival’s premiere of Gangor, a film by producer Vinod Kumar, managing director at of Motion Pictures and Secretary General of the Film Foundation of India.

“I have visited all the important film festivals in the world and have always dreamed of visiting Israel, especially Jerusalem,” said Supran Sen, Secretary General of the Film Federation of India. “I am very much fascinated by this visit.”

The Indian delegation was brought to Israel under the auspices of Project Interchange/AJC (American Jewish Committee), in cooperation with AIJAC.

“Project Interchange is proud to host this first-ever visit to Israel by Indian film industry leaders,” said Sam Witkin, Project Interchange Executive Director. “This is part of a broad initiative by Project Interchange and AJC to deepen bilateral ties between Israel and India.”

Bollywood is estimated to gross some $20.4 billion annually, according PricewaterhouseCoopers.

“I am eagerly looking forward to meeting the filmmakers and creative talent from Israel,” said filmmaker Abhishek Sharma. “This is a golden opportunity for the artists of the two countries to explore areas and themes of common interest and take the relationship between our two industries to the next level. With a country that is so rich in talent and culture, our Israeli counterparts can surely enrich and contribute to the colorful film industry of India.”