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Swarup Chakraborty Mumbai
Last Updated : Jan 21 2013 | 5:24 AM IST

Nine genres, seven days and 200 movies — the Mumbai Film Festival is back in town for movie buffs

The twelfth edition of the Mumbai Film Festival, organised by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Images (MAMI), opens on October 21. Over eight days, it will showcase 200 films from 58 countries. “This year we had over 800 entries, of which we selected the best 200 films for screening. Entries came from countries in Latin America, Europe and Canada, and the maximum were from France and Germany,” says Srinivasan Narayan, MAMI’s director.

This year the festival has nine special categories: International, a competition for first-time directors, Above the Cut, World Cinema, Real Reel, Indian Frame, New Faces in Indian Cinema, Dimensions Mumbai, Celebrate Age, and Celebration of Japanese Cinema. “Last year we had 450 entries,” says Narayan, “which almost doubled this year, which shows the growing popularity of the festival.” In the competitive section alone, 190 films were entered this year, and 14 selected.

The films will be screened at Chandan Cinema (Juhu) and the adjacent five screens of PVR Juhu, two screens in Metro BIG Cinemas (Marine Lines) and one screen in BIG Cinemas R City (Ghatkopar). Delegate passes for access to all screenings will be available for Rs 1,000, and student passes for Rs 500. “An individual can watch almost 35 films during the festival, which works out to Rs 15 per film,” says Narayan.

The 14 films in the International competition, by first-time directors from around the world, will compete for cash prizes of $150,000. Above the Cut will present another 14 first feature films of particular cinematic merit which could not be included in the competition. World Cinema showcases the best of the year from around the world. Real Reel will have a selection of the best feature-length documentary films. Indian Frame, as the name indicates, will be a selection of Indian cinema from the calendar year before the festival date. This section is intended to target foreign delegates, festival directors, sales agents and co-producers. New Faces in Indian Cinema, a new initiative, will screen first and second feature films of Indian directors. Dimensions Mumbai is a forum for young, creative Mumbai minds to present their films on any aspect of the metropolis in any format of their choice.

In collaboration with Harmony Silvers Foundation, this year MAMI is introducing a new competition section: Celebrate Age will showcase short fiction films, documentaries and feature-length films on the concerns and experiences of the aged.

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For Celebration of Japanese Cinema, pristine 35 mm prints of 43 films were collected — classic and contemporary. This programme is co-organised with the Consulate General of Japan in Mumbai and The Japan Foundation.

The films in the International competition for first time directors have been judged by a five-member International Jury headed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker, screenwriter and producer Jane Campion, BAFTA Award-winning producer Tanya Seghatchian, Iranian filmmaker Samira Makhmalbaf, South Korean actress Yoon Jeong-Hee and National Film Award-winning Indian actor Suhasini Maniratnam.

This year the festival offers a total prize money of Rs 1 crore. There will be sidebar events and open forums daily, organised by the Independent Filmmakers’ Association.

The Mumbai Film Festival is a Reliance Big Entertainment initiative and is the only film festival in India organised by an independent body of practicing film professionals. MAMI is composed of Indian film industry stalwarts and was founded in 1997 by late filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee.

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First Published: Oct 17 2010 | 12:59 AM IST

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