Mumbai Mantra to Develop 100 Storytellers

                  MUMBAIMANTRA 
      TO NURTURE 100 STORYTELLERS

MUMBAIMANTRA - CINERISE SCREENWRITING PROGRAMME

·        Arare and valuable opportunity for 100 Indian screenwriters.

·        Selectedscreenwriters to be mentored by renowned Indian and international writers anddirectors

·        2-dayScreenwriting Workshop-cum-Interactions shall be conducted in major citiesacross the county. 

·        A5-day residential lab for 12-15 selected writers at a resort destination.

·        Screenwriter-Producer Interface: The programme will culminate with a Pitching Event, a rare opportunity for screenwriters to pitch their scripts to studios, producers,directors, film festival programmers-curators, and other interested entities.

Mumbai: Mumbai Mantra kicks off the second phase of the Mumbai Mantra-Cine Rise Screenwriting Programme: 100 Storytellers A Year with a panel discussion on Whyis there such a dearth of good scripts in India? on October17th at the ongoing Mumbai Film Festival. This panelwas moderated by the Convenor of the Mumbai Mantra CineRise Screenwritinginitiative,Anjum Rajabali who was joined by some of the Mentors forthis initiative, which included Vishal Bhardwaj, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra,Vikramaditya Motwane, Shridhar Raghavan and Sriram Raghavan.

Mumbai Mantra received an overwhelming 550 stories from aspiring and new screenwriters for this programme, not just from across the country but around the world.

Of these, 100 will be shortlisted for a one-on-one intensive interaction on their stories, with senior screenwriters, at screenwriting workshops to be organized at different centers in India.

The first day of the workshop will be open to every enthusiast (for a nominal fee), including applicants who did not make it to the top 100. The workshop will offer valuableguidance on screenwriting to participants, so that they may continue to pursuetheir creative passion in writing scripts, equipped with better knowledge, andhopefully get into the top 100 next year.

Based on the feedback on theirstory, the screenwriters would then submit a complete screenplay draft whichwould be reviewed by a Selection Advisory Committee. After an intensivescreening and evaluation, 12-15 (or more, if there are many deservingscreenplays) will make it to the Mumbai Mantra CineRise 100 Script Lab.

These writers will then be mentored on their screenplays at the Lab by senior and renowned Indian screen writers and writer-directors including the ones on the panel above aswell as international screenwriters.

RohitKhattar, Chairman, Mumbai Mantra said, “Our aim isto reach across to every storyteller who has a dream to see her/his vision onbig screen. These screenplays (and even those that do not get selected asfinalists), shall be part of the CineRise Script Bank and maystill get attention from Producers in the future. India is a land of storiesand we would like to provide a platform to these stories so that they cantravel and cut across barriers.”

The Screenwriting Programme isdesigned as a detailed step-by-step process of nurturing, which will have 8 defined stages of creative intervention from mentors.

AnjumRajabali, the Convenor of the Mumbai Mantra CineRise ScreenwritingProgramme says, “It is our belief that there are many undiscoveredtalented potential screenwriters out there who could do with some guidance, anda platform to get their work noticed and picked up. Mumbai Mantra’sCineRise-100 is an ambitious initiative to reach out to them, in a bid to turnthem into professional screenwriters. The Indian film industry is continuouslyon the lookout for well-written engaging scripts, based on any kind ofinteresting stories.”

After the workshop, these 100screenwriters shall have 2 months to submit the first draft of theirscreenplays. From among these,12 to 15 will make it to the final selection,and will be sent to the Mentors and other experienced readers, for detailedevaluation and feedback.

Based on that, the respectivewriters will have 1 month to send in the second drafts of theirscreenplays, which will then be discussed in 4-5 exhaustive one-on-ones withthe Mentors, at the residential Script Lab. Mentors of course will berenowned Indian and international screenwriters and writer-directors.

A valid complaint ofscreenwriters is that even if they have a competent worthy script, they find itnear-impossible to connect with producers. Being sensitive to this difficulty,Mumbai Mantra’s CineRise 100 will extend its programme to an SPI event(Screenwriter-Producer Interface) in Mumbai, where these writers will get achance to meet with studio heads, independent producers, directors, filmfestival directors & curators and other interested parties, and pitch thefinal drafts of their scripts to them. This is clearly one of the highlights of the CineRise-100 programme.

Says AparnaPurohit, Head – Creative Initiatives, Mumbai Mantra, “Webelieve that this initiative is a stepping stone in igniting a story-tellingrevolution in the country. Our mission is clear: To invite and encourage bravenew talented voices to participate in shaping the future of Indiancinema!”

About MumbaiMantra

Mumbai Mantra Media Ltd, the Media & Entertainment vertical of the Mahindra Group, is actively evaluating opportunities in content and infrastructure in the domestic as well as international media and entertainment space.

Mumbai Mantra has also made acommitment towards providing a platform for independent voices in Indian cinemato champion an emerging generation of exciting filmmakers. The first step was amultifaceted 3-year collaboration with the Sundance Institute founded by RobertRedford. This included the Mumbai Mantra | Sundance Institute Screenwriters Labin India and the Sundance Institute | Mahindra Global Filmmaking Awards,awarded annually at the Sundance Film Festival. 16 Filmmakers have been awardedand 25 Screenwriting fellows have been selected through the last 3Screenwriting Labs. Post this, a new initiative Mumbai Mantra CineRise: 100Storytellers a Year has just been announced, which shall help nurture more andmore new writers annually.

About Mahindra

TheMahindra Group focuses on enabling people to rise through solutions that powermobility, drive rural prosperity, enhance urban lifestyles and increasebusiness efficiency.

AUSD 16.5 billion multinational group based in Mumbai, India, Mahindra employsmore than 180,000 people in over 100 countries. Mahindra operates in the keyindustries that drive economic growth, enjoying aleadership position in tractors, utility vehicles, informationtechnology, financialservices  and vacationownership. In addition, Mahindra enjoys astrong presence in the agribusiness, aerospace, components, consultingservices, defence, energy,industrial equipment, logistics, real estate,retail, steel, commercial vehiclesand two wheeler industries.

In2014, Mahindra featured on the Forbes Global 2000, a comprehensive listing ofthe world’s largest, most powerful public companies, as measured byrevenue, profit, assets and market value. The Mahindra Group also received theFinancial Times ‘Boldness in Business’ Award in the ‘EmergingMarkets’ category in 2013. Visit us at www.mahindra.com