The Mumbai Academy of Motion Pictures (MAMI) is back with the International Film Festival of Mumbai. The festival, begins March 6, and runs for one week.
The Mumbai International Film Festival kicks-off in three days, and the city can hardly wait
The Mumbai Academy of Motion Pictures (MAMI) is back with the International Film Festival of Mumbai. The festival, begins March 6, and runs for one week.
Eleven years ago, a few filmmakers got together to kick-start what would be the first film festival organised independently by members of the film industry. “We started with 65 films, one theatre [screening those films], very little money, and some aid from the Maharashtra government.
“Today, we have major sponsors, three multiplexes, more than 140 films, forums, open discussions and the ambition to expand further,” says filmmaker Govind Nihalani, one of the founding trustees of MAMI.
In 1997, Nihalani along with Yash Chopra, Ramesh Sippy, Manmohan Shetty, Shyam Benegal, Hrishikesh Mukherjee and a few others, formed MAMI, with the aim of introducing international cinema to Mumbai.
“However, the festival's no more an avenue to just show films,” continues Nihalani. “It's interactive, honours talent, and contributes to the city's film culture. More importantly, it's not run by the government, but by the film fraternity itself.”
The seeds of the festival were sown by Sudhir Nandgaonkar, general secretary of the Prabhat Chitra Mandal, a film society formed in the sixties. “The society had been propagating films for 30 years, but its reach was minimal. That's when I came up with the idea of starting a festival that would introduce Mumbai to films from across the world,” says Nandgaonkar, who is also the festival's artistic director. “I approached prominent people from the industry, and they were only too happy to help me in this endeavour.”
The festival had no infrastructure or funds then. But the popularity of the event grew with each passing year, and today it's one of the most anticipated film festivals in the country.
Over the years, it has showcased popular films like Roberto Benigni's Life is Beautiful, and Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
“The festival not just screens international films, but also has an international jury that selects the best picture among the competitive section for Indian films, introduced five years ago,” says Nandgaokar.
Among the films competing for the award this year are Yash Chopra's Chak De India and Aamir Khan's Taare Zameen Par. In terms of international films too, the list is much bigger and encompasses a number of genres, this year.
The festival opens with Andrzej Wajda's Katyn, which was nominated at this year's Academy Awards, and closes with Naomi Kawase's The Mourning Forest, winner of the Grand Prix at last year's Cannes Film Festival. A retrospective of films by Carlos Saura and Ritwik Ghatak are some of the other attractions.
“We have exceptionally good films this year,” says Shyam Benegal, filmmaker and chairman of MAMI.
“Luckily for us, the city's audience is now open to watching films that do not only belong to the Indian film industry, or Hollywood. They are a lot more aware of film cultures the world over, mainly due to easy accessibility on the Internet and mushrooming DVD parlours.
“Youngsters, especially, are a lot more interested in watching world cinema than they were a few years ago. The festival has grown slowly, but steadily, and will hopefully scale greater heights in coming years,” he concludes.
g_aniruddha@dnaindia.net
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