Mumbai, September 27, 2010: The MAMI committee led by Chairman Mr. Shyam Benegal and trustees Mr. Yash Chopra, Mr. Ashutosh Gowarikar, Mr. Amit Khanna, today unveiled the line-up for the 12th annual Mumbai Film Festival (MFF), which consists of 200 films from 58 countries. This forms the largest number of films at any Film Festival ever. All the international films to be screened in the main sections of this year’s festival will be Indian, Asian or world premieres. Mumbai Film Festival is a Reliance Big Entertainment initiative and has the distinction of being the only international film festival in India to be organized by an independent body of practicing film professionals.
This year the festival films will be screened at Chandan Cinema (Juhu) and the adjacent Five screens of PVR Juhu which will function as the Main Festival Complex, two screens in Metro BIG Cinemas (Marine Lines) & one screen in BIG Cinemas R City (Ghatkopar). The films in the International Competition for the first films of the directors will be judged by a five member International Jury headed by Academy Award winner, Hollywood-based filmmaker, screenwriter and producer Jane Campion.
The 12th Film Festival embraces a distinguished Jury. Jane Campion (Bright Star, In The Cut, The Piano, Soft Fruit), Tanya Seghatchian, the BAFTA Award-winning producer of Pawel Pawlikowski’s My Summer Love and produced the first four Harry Potter film series, Iranian filmmaker Samira Makhmalbaf, South Koren actress Yoon Jeong-Hee known as the greatest of South Korean stars and who recently starred in Lee Chang Dong’s acclaimed film “Poetry” screened in Cannes competition, National Film Award-winning Indian actor Suhasini Maniratnam.
MAMI’s 12th Film festival this year offers astounding total prize money of Rs 1 crore. The festival will also hold interesting sidebar events and open forums daily organized by Independent Filmmakers Association.
Acclaimed Director, David Fincher’s Social Network to Open the Festival on October 21st, 2010.
MAMI will be honoring two outstanding film personalities with a presentation of distinctive awards. Honorees include: three times Academy Award Winner Oliver Stone who will receive the International Lifetime Achievement Award; noted Indian film actor-director-screenwriter-producer Manoj Kumar, who will be honored with the Indian Lifetime Achievement Award at the awards function on 28th October, 2010.
List of some of the important films:
The festival is divided in Nine Special Sections:
The 14 Feature Films of first time Directors in the International Competition section from across the world will compete for the cash awards of US$ 150,000.
All these young directors will be personally present in Mumbai during the Festival. Above the cut will present 14 first feature films of extra ordinary cinematic merit which could not be included in the competition. World Cinema section will showcase the best of the crop from around the world during the year. Real Reel will show case a selection of the best feature length documentary films from around the world. Indian Frame, as the name indicates, presents a selection of Indian cinema made in one calendar year before the festival dates. This section is meant to be a show window for the best Indian films targeting the foreign delegates, Festival directors, sales agents and co-producers.
The New Faces in Indian Cinema is a brand new initiative which will screen First and Second Feature Films of the Indian directors and aims to provide a platform to young emerging Indian filmmakers. Dimensions Mumbai is to tease, target and provide a forum to the young creative minds in the city of Mumbai to come up with the best film on any aspect of this metropolis in any format of their choice.
This year in collaboration with Harmony Silvers Foundation, MAMI is introducing a brand new competition section “Celebrate Age” which will showcase short fiction films, documentaries and feature length films on the concerns, spice, fun and adventure of growing older.
"Celebration of Japanese Cinema" a collection of pristine 35MM prints of 43 films --- classic as well as contemporary --- will be screened providing festival-goers with an unparalleled opportunity to choose from an array of films from one of the most vibrant national cinemas. This extraordinary showcase is being co-organized in collaboration with the Consulate General of Japan in Mumbai and The Japan Foundation. Yoji Yamada’s latest film OTOTO will open the Celebration of Japanese Cinema Section. Takashi Koizumi, Kurosawa Akira’s first Assistant in the film RAN and an eminent director himself, will present this film to the audience.
MAMI’s Film Business Center in its 12th Film Festival seeks to become the finest platform for Indian and International film Industries to come together.
For the first time in any Indian Film Festival all the important Buyers and Sales agents from around the world will be attending the film festival. The Film Business Center at Chandan Cinema, an initiative in its second year, will host several important world sales agents and buyers. Representatives of Pathe (France and UK), Studio Canal (France), Icon (UK, US, Australia), Metro Films (South Africa), IM Global (USA), Fortissimo (Netherlands) Pioniwa (Japan), MK2 (France), Memento Films International (France), Visit Films (USA), Umedia (France), The Match Factory (Germany), Bavaria Films International (Germany), Beta Films (Germany), Wide Management (France), YTV (Japan), Visual Media Centre (Iran) among a host of others will converge at the Film Business Centre. Several Indian producers, distributors, exhibitors and television channels will be active in the Film Business Centre which is set up to facilitate B2B interactions among the film professionals who are participating in the festival.
The Business Centre will arrange for meetings which will support corporate as well as Independent Film makers and Distributors/buyers. Indian distributors will be able to buy foreign films from over 50 foreign producers and sales agents from abroad.
The Film Business Centre will provide a combination of lounge facilities, DVD screening facilities and Internet connectivity to these professionals to ensure smooth interactivity. This facility will function like an exclusive professional club. Industry professionals need to separately register to access the Film Business Centre.
Mumbai Film Festival carries one of the richest cash awards for its International Competition for Directors who are Debuting Feature Films with a cash prize of US$ 100,000 (approx. Rs. 50,00,000). Additional awards include the Golden Gateway of India trophy for the Best Film, the Silver Gateway of India trophy and cash prize of USD $50,000 (approx. Rs. 25,00,000) for the Jury Grand Prize. The best talent from these films will be awarded the Silver Gateway of India trophy and all films in this category are Indian premiers.
Lastly, the Audience Choice Award which was introduced last year includes Silver Gateway of India trophy and cash prize of USD $20,000 (approx. Rs. 10, 00,000)]. Films from all sections except the retrospective and tributes are eligible.
The 12th Mumbai Film Festival organized by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image is set to offer great Academic properties to the participants:
Brand Partners this year include
UTV World Movies, Bollywood Hungama, Film Street Journal, Government of Maharashtra, Sun n sand , PVR , Chandan (have to be made into a vector) , Big Cinemas,UB Group, Kingfisher Airlines, Film Street Journal, Business of Cinema, RCom, Big Live, Big Adda, Reliance Media works, Big 92.7 FM, Bright Outdoors.
About MAMI: Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) is a nonprofit trust which comprises of Indian film industry stalwarts which was founded in 1997 by late filmmaker Shri Hrishikesh Mukherjee.
Mumbai Film Festival (MFF), organized by MAMI is a Reliance Big Entertainment Ltd. (RBEL) initiative which is the flagship media and entertainment arm of India's Reliance Group
Noted filmmaker Shri Shyam Benegal heads the body that consists of film directors including: Yash Chopra, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Karan Johar, 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.
For more information please log on to www.mumbaifilmfest.com
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