Telangana brings its A-game to Cannes

CANNES: Hyderabad is tired of being the world’s back office for pixels. It now wants a fat slice of the IP pie.

The Telangana government planted its flag at Mipcom Cannes 2026 on 14 October. It pitched the city to global studios, streamers and investors as a place to own content, not just render it. On the menu were the international launch of IndiaJoy 2026 and a sneak peek at the state’s upcoming AVGC IMAGE 2.0 policy.

Chief secretary Sanjay Jaju led the charge. His delegation worked the room with broadcasters, producers, streaming platforms and money men, and the message was blunt. Hyderabad wants to graduate from production services to a global hub for content creation, IP and creative investment.

IndiaJoy 2026 runs from 7 to 13 December at Bharat Future City, Hyderabad. It overlaps with the Invest Telangana Global Summit 2026 (7 to 9 December), part of the state’s Telangana Rising 2047 vision. Smart timing. The investors will already be in town with their chequebooks.

The week-long jamboree will mix conferences, exhibitions, screenings, masterclasses, esports face-offs and fan experiences across film, animation, VFX, gaming and comics. Headliners include DreamHack Hyderabad, Hyderabad Comic Con, VFX Summit and DesiToons.

The real action may well happen off stage. An Investor-Producer Connect and a Writer-Producer Pitch Arena aim to get studios, distributors, streamers, publishers and tech firms talking co-productions, licensing deals and original IP. Ideas, meet money.

Telangana also offered a prelude to IMAGE 2.0. The policy is being shaped around what global studios and multinationals look for when they scout India for production and creative operations. Expect internationally competitive incentives backed by modern infrastructure and a deeper talent pool.

It goes beyond plain-vanilla production support. Virtual production, real-time rendering, AI, cloud workflows and gaming tech all get a look-in, as does creating and selling original IP. The state is also chasing anchor investments and international production partnerships. The pitch is simple. Hyderabad as a long-term home, not a cheap outsourcing pit stop.

The full framework is expected to form part of Telangana’s upcoming industry and investment announcements.

At the heart of the infrastructure play sits IMAGE Tower. The planned building of roughly 1.6 million sq ft is dedicated to animation, VFX, gaming, comics and extended reality. It ranks among India’s most ambitious creative-industry projects, designed to house global studios, production facilities and tech start-ups under one roof with shared, production-ready spaces.

It builds on a busy base. Hyderabad already has more than 150 AVGC and VFX companies and an estimated 30,000 creative professionals. Netflix’s Eyeline Studios has opened its first Indian facility in the city, a clear nod to Hyderabad’s growing clout in VFX and virtual production.

Throw in the state’s deep bench of tech and engineering talent, and Telangana reckons global firms have everything they need to set up shop and scale.

“The future of the global entertainment industry will be shaped by the convergence of creativity, technology and capital. Telangana is positioning itself at the centre of this transformation,” said Jaju. “Through IndiaJoy and the Telangana Rising Global Summit, we are bringing the world’s creators, investors and industry leaders together to build meaningful partnerships. Our invitation is simple: Build in Telangana. Create for the world.”

Also flying the state’s flag at the Mipcom pavilion were Invest Telangana CEO Ajith Reddy B, information technology, electronics and communications department joint secretary Anudeep Durishetty and Invest Telangana director, AVGC and orange economy, Vallabi A.

Cannes was the trailer. December in Hyderabad is the main feature.