ONE OF the most-awaited cultural events of the city, the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, is back after four years. With its focus on South Asian cinema, the festival this year will feature over 250 films spread over 10 days from October 27 to November 5.
As the festival’s competitive section aims to showcase breakthrough contemporary South Asian films, it will feature 14 films from debutant and second-time filmmakers from across India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal, as well as diaspora filmmakers from the UK and Germany. Some exciting titles in this section are Mithya by Sumant Bhat; Barir Naam Shahana (A House Named Shahana) by Leesa Gazi; and The Red Suitcase by Fidel Devkota.
South Asian films are also part of a non-competition section that has 46 films (22 features and 24 non-features). This includes works from Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Nepal, as well as diaspora perspectives from Australia, Germany, the USA, the UK, Poland, and Spain. The movies to watch out for in this segment are All India Rank by Varun Grover; Pushtaini by Vinod Rawat; Stolen by Karan Tejpal; and Mai by Milin Dhamade.
The festival will also screen works of prominent South Asian talents such as Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam by Anand Patwardhan; Indi(r)a’s Emergency by Vikramaditya Motwane; Paradise by Prasanna Vithanage; and Something Like an Autobiography by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki.
Talking about the line-up, artistic director, Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, Deepti DCunha said, “We are very proud that we have managed to achieve such a diverse curation in our South Asia section within the first year of us expanding our vision to be a festival that is focused on building an ecosystem for new cinematic voices from South Asia and the South Asian Diaspora. This commitment extends beyond film screenings, aiming to facilitate the exchange of ideas, collaborations, and business opportunities while bringing the best of world cinema to Mumbai.”
The World Cinema section will showcase over 90 titles from over 35 countries. The selection comprises of some of the most talked-about films from this year’s festival circuit such as Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Triet, Bradley Cooper’s Maestro, Beyond Utopia by Madeleine Gavin which won the Audience Award at Sundance Film Festival.
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Anu Rangchar, head of international programming at the festival, added, “Our curation also has some hidden gems that one wouldn’t be able to otherwise watch in India, as the probability of them independently releasing here is fairly low.”
Speaking at the press conference, festival director Anupama Chopra said: “With every new edition of the festival, we hope to create a larger impact for all our stakeholders, from filmmakers to audiences.”
Some of the special sections of the festival are Marathi Talkies, which will showcase the best of contemporary Marathi cinema; Restored Classics, which will screen digitally-restored classic films from India and around the world; and Recap, which will revisit the festival’s selection from 2020 and 2022.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
First published on: 11-10-2023 at 01:32 IST
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