14TH MUMBAI FILM FESTIVAL

Entertainment/Films

by Prashant Kapadia

STELLAR LINE UP OF FILMS ANNOUNCED AS PART OF THE 14^TH MUMBAI FILM FESTIVAL

·        Over 200 films from over 65 countries to be screened at MFF

·        Prize money of USD 220,000 to be awarded

·        Screening of Silent Film with Live Orchestra | Rendez-vous with French Cinema | Celebration of Italian Cinema |Kabul Fresh- New Voices in Afghan Cinema |

Restored Classics from around the World

·        Actress Waheeda Rehman to be conferred the Indian Lifetime Achievement Award

·        Homage to Rajesh Khanna, Dara Singh and A. K. Hangal

Mumbai: The 14^th edition of the premier event of Mumbai’s culture calendar, the Mumbai Film Festival (MFF) presented by Reliance Entertainment and American Express and organised by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image, will be held from the 18^th – 25^th October, 2012 at National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) & Inox, Nariman Point, Liberty Cinemas, Marine Lines as the main festival venues and Cinemax, Andheri and Cinemax Sion as the satellite venues.

The 14^th  Mumbai Film Festival’s stellar line up of over 200 movies and other highlights were revealed  at the curtain raiser press conference held at the NCPA in the presence of Mr. Shyam Benegal, Filmmaker and Chairman, MAMI, Mr. Amit Khanna, Chairman, Reliance Entertainment and Trustee, MAMI, Mr. Sudhir Mishra and Mr. Ramesh Sippy, Filmmakers & Trustees, MAMI; Mr. Srinivasan Narayanan, Director, Mumbai Film Festival; Mr. Sanjeev Lamba, CEO, Reliance Entertainment; Mr. Sanjay Rishi, President, American Express India along with representatives from various consulates and dignitaries from the Indian Entertainment industry.

This year the festival will introduce a new competition section for Indian films called ‘India Gold 2012’, which will see 13 Indian language films of debut directors compete for prize money of approx USD 31,000. This is in addition to the other competition sections such as the ‘International Competition’, ‘Celebrate Age’ and ‘Dimensions Mumbai’. The total prize money at this year’s festival is USD 220,000.

To mark the centenary celebration of Indian cinema the Festival will screen a package of restored Indian silent films accompanied by live orchestra. These films include classics such as ‘Kaliya Mardan’, ‘Raja Harishchandra’, ‘Marthand Varma’, ‘Throw Of Dice’, ‘Sati Savitri’, ‘Jamai Babu’, ‘Galliant Heart’ and few others.

For the second consecutive year, the best of contemporary French cinema will be presented as part of ‘Rendez-vous with French Cinema’ section in association with the Embassy of France in India and Unifrance. Other highlights include a special package tracing the history of Italian cinema that is being organised in association with the Embassy of Italy in India and the Italian film director and film academician Mr Italo Spinelli, a special section on restored classics from around the world, a package of films from Afghanistan Kabul Fresh- New Voices in Afghan Cinema recognizing the blossoming film movement in the country and homage to Rajesh Khanna, Dara Singh and A.K. Hangal.

Actress Waheeda Rehman will be conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award.

L-R Mr. Sanjay Rishi, Mr. Ramesh Sippy, Mr. Shyam Benegal, Mr. Amit Khanna, Mr. Sudhir Mishra, Mr. Srinivasan Narayanan & Mr. Sanjeev Lamba

The Festival will also witness the country’s first ever panel discussion on restoration and preservation of films with the attendance of eminent guests from the World Cinema foundation, Film foundation, Twentieth Century Fox Archivesand Academy Film Archive of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Side bar events at this year’s festival include direction master class by Andy Tennant, creative production master classes byGary Kurtz, acting master classes by Jaya Bachchan, cinematography master classes by Declan Quinn and editing master classes by Pascale Chovance. Furthermore, a pitching and screenplay writing master classes will also be conducted by Equinoxe with the attendance of Claire Dobbin, script consultant and chair of the Melbourne International Film Festival and David Maggee, scriptwriter of films such as ‘Life of Pi’ and ‘Finding Neverland’. Noted German critic Daniel Kothenschulte will groom the collegians selected for ‘Mumbai Young Critics’. 

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Shyam Benegal, Filmmaker and Chairman of MAMI, said, “This is the best festival yet and this has been possible due to the support we have been receiving from our sponsors, Government of Maharashtra, the industry and most importantly the media. The eight days will be marked with screenings of some of the most awaited films, academic initiatives and discussions on topics governing the film industry and audience at large.”

Commenting on the line up of films, Mr Srinivasan Narayanan, Director, MFF, said “We continue to have a grand repertoire of films and are pleased to screen the likes of ‘Amour’,’ Antiviral’, ‘Blancanieves’,’ Holy Motors’, ‘On the Road’, ‘Cosmopolis’, ‘Beyond the Hills’ and ‘The Taste of Money’ among the numerous other award-winning films, all of which are Indian premieres. All this has been possible with the support of Mrs. Tina Ambani, Reliance Entertainment team and American Express being committed to the growth of the Festival.”

Mr Amit Khanna, Chairman Reliance Entertainment & Trustee, MAMI, revealed plans of the second edition of the Mumbai Film Mart, to be held at the Trident Hotel. The Mart will continue its focus on non-traditional markets and facilitate new deals assisting the business of films across continents. He said, “Much like the Festival itself, the Mart too has grown. Last year, we facilitated some record-breaking deals. This year, we will see the attendance of key players from non-traditional markets such as Nikatsu, Happinet Corp, Wowow in addition to film sales agents such as Fandango Portobello, MK2, Tanweer, Celluloid Dreams, The Festival Agency amongst numerous other key players.”

Sanjeev Lamba, CEO, Reliance Entertainment, added, “Reliance Entertainment is committed to turning this festival to a prominent global destination – this year’s venues at NCPA, Liberty, Inox and Cinemax are a testament.  The global presence and shared commitment of American Express who have joined the festival as principal sponsor will surely aid in its continued success and growth,” said.

Taking forth the note on the partnership, Mr. Sanjay Rishi, President, American Express India said, “We are very pleased to partner with Reliance Entertainment and MAMI to sponsor  the 14th Mumbai Film Festival. American Express has been closely associated with cultural and entertainment experiences globally. Sponsoring the festival is in line with our sponsorship of similar properties including the Tribeca and Sundance Film Festivals in the US and the London Film Festival in the UK.  We hope our customers and partners will appreciate the access to preferred seating and premieres and a variety of film experiences throughout the festival.”

This year’s ‘International Competition’ Jury will be presided by noted director Andy Tennant of ‘Fool’s Gold’, ‘Hitch’and ‘Anna and the King’ fame. With him on the jury panel are South-Korean director Im Sang-soo renowned for films such as ‘Taste of Money’, ‘The Housemaid’ and ‘A Good Lawyers Wife’, Actor Rahul Bose, noted French editorPascale Chovance who has over 50 films to her credit and acclaimed Brazilian director Sergio Machado.

The Jury President for ‘India Gold 2012’ will be Oscar-nominated producer Gary Kurtz (maker of ‘Star Wars’ and ‘The Steal’). The other jury members include Geoffrey Gilmore, Chief Creative officer at Tribeca Enterprises of the Tribeca Film Festival , Christian Jeune, Head, Film Department at Cannes Film Festival, Declan Quinn, cinematographer of films such as ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’, ‘New York, I Love You’, ‘Vanity Fair’ and ‘Being Flynn’ and Julia Leighacclaimed author and director of ‘Sleeping Beauty’.  

The ‘Celebrate Age’ competition section jury will be presided by noted author and columnist Shobhaa De with National Award winning directors Bhavna Talwar and Sachin Kundalkar, Producer and WIFT Mumbai chapter Founder-President, Petrina D’Rozario and noted actor Ranvir Shorey.

Acclaimed Director Umesh Kulkarni is the president of the ‘Dimension Mumbai’ competition section accompanied by other jury members such as actor-producer Sanjay Suri, director and actor Gitanjali Rao who bagged top honours at the Cannes Film Festival short film section and Reema Kagti, director and screenwriter.

It was also announced that the popular event Cinemascapes that brings together film makers and location & service providers is being co-located during the 14th MFF, with an access to all Festival delegates. It will provide filmmakers an opportunity to interact with national and international agencies regarding film locations and related financial incentives.

The event was drawn to a close with thanks to the sponsors: Reliance Entertainment and American Express; support of Government of Maharashtra and National Film Archives of India (NFAI) and partners NCPA, Inox, Liberty, Cinemax, Trident Hotel, Reliance Media Works, Real Image, Barco,  Pulz, Galalite, Digilite, Bright Outdoor, Cinemascapes, Grey Goose and Qua. 

The 14^th Mumbai Film Festival, presented by Reliance Entertainment and American Express, is organized by Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) - a body comprised of Indian film industry stalwarts, which was founded in 1997 by late filmmaker Shri Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Noted filmmaker Shri Shyam Benegal heads the body that consists of film directors including: Yash Chopra, Sudhir Mishra, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Karan Johar, Anurag Kashyap, renowned actresses Shabana Azmi and Jaya Bachchan, actor-director Amol Palekar and Farhan Akhtar and the chairman of Reliance Big Entertainment Amit Khanna as Trustees.