The festival released its program announcement on Monday, which will feature 250 plus films in more than 70 languages, over 70 countries, 20 screens, 8 venues, a state-of-the-art festival hub (NMACC), and a great number of women directors, with over 70 films. Mira Nair will head the South Asia Competition jury.
Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival announced its line-up for 2023, with over 250 films spread over 10 days from October 27 to November 5. The curation boasts over 40 World Premieres, 45 Asia Premieres, and 70+ South Asia Premieres, with a record-breaking number of 1000+ submissions for the South Asia program. The festival promises to spotlight contemporary films and new cinematic voices from South Asia. The main competition at the festival this year is the South Asia Competition. It aligns with the festival’s new vision to become a hub for South Asian and South Asian Diaspora cinema and talent. This competitive section aims to showcase breakthrough contemporary South Asian films. The 14 films are from debutant and second-time filmmakers from across India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal, as well as diaspora filmmakers from the UK and Germany. South Asian films are also part of a non-competition section that has 46 films (22 features + 24 non-features) that showcase the diversity of the region and offer a glimpse into the rich tapestry of South Asia. It includes works from Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Nepal, as well as diaspora perspectives from Australia, Germany, the USA, the UK, Poland, and Spain.
Among names that are instantly recognizable are the latest titles from greats like Pedro Almodóvar, Bradley Cooper, Anurag Kashyap, Aki Kaurismaki, Alice Rohrwacher, Angela Schanelec, Ken Loach, Wang Bing, Wim Wenders, plus Mostofa Sarwar Farooki with his very personal Something Like an Autobiography, which just world premiered in Busan. Farooki’s film is part of the Icons: South Asia lineup, which includes films by renowned documentarians Anand Patwardhan and Nishtha Jain.
Yet Jio MAMI is best known for its great display of homegrown talent and this year is no exception. Fresh from Venice and London fests is Stolen by Karan Tejpal, plus there is a gala planned for actor and prolific filmmaker Rajat Kapoor’s latest Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa.
Marathi Talkies, a section curated by Sachin Chatte and launched in 2018 at the festival will feature Aatmapamphlet (Auto-bio Pamphlet) by Ashish Bende, Ved by actor turned filmmaker Riteish Deshmukh, Dhekun (Bedbug) — and no relationship to Paris, if you’ll pardon the awful pun — by Kshitij Joshi and Vaalvi by Paresh Mokashi.
The South Asia Competition jury will see beloved Indian filmmaker Mira Nair as president, with Egyptian filmmaker Marianne Khoury, Australian director and screenwriter David Michôd and New York-based, Filipina filmmaker Isabel Sandoval rounding out the esteemed group.
This year, the festival returns as an in-person event. It will be held at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) in the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) with screenings taking place across eight venues and 20 screens around the city of Mumbai.
While the festival was scheduled to return in March of 2022, it was moved online at the last minute, with the organizers citing “logistical and financial challenges,” as a result of the pandemic.
Dimensions Mumbai is another notable section which was first introduced to Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival in 2009 by beloved actress and Bollywood wife Jaya Bachchan, and has been one of the most sought-after sections at the festival. Many winning filmmakers at Dimensions Mumbai have gone on to direct feature films and web series.
This year’s highlights include Should I Kill Myself, Or Have A Cup Of Coffee? By Vidar Joshi, Halfway by Kumar Chheda, and City of Mirage by Anjani Chadha and Nivedita Rani.
The festival’s Artistic Director Deepti DCunha said, “We are very proud that we have managed to achieve such a diverse curation in our South Asia section within the first year of us expanding our vision to be a festival that is focused on building an ecosystem for new cinematic voices from South Asia and the South Asian Diaspora. This commitment extends beyond film screenings, aiming to facilitate the exchange of ideas, collaborations, and business opportunities while bringing the best of world cinema to Mumbai.”
Speaking of which, this year’s World Cinema section will showcase more than 90 titles from over 35 countries. The selection comprises some of the most talked-about films from this year's festival circuit; such as Palme d'Or winner Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Triet, Bradley Cooper's Oscar and Golden Globes tipped Maestro, Beyond Utopia by Madeleine Gavin that won the Audience Award at Sundance Film Festival. Additional titles include The Daughters of Fire by Pedro Costa, Monster by Hirokazu Kore-eda, In Our Day by Hong Sang-soo, Strange Way of Life by Pedro Almodóvar, The Old Oak by Ken Loach, Fallen Leaves by Aki Kaurismäki and La Chimera by Alice Rohrwacher.
Anu Rangchar, Head of International Programming, at Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, added, “We have curated some of the most discerning international titles for the festival audience. Besides the buzzworthy titles, there are several other titles that have ended up becoming Academy Award nominees from their respective countries. These titles have the innate potential to only get bigger with time. Our curation also has some hidden gems that one wouldn’t be able to otherwise watch in India, as the probability of them independently releasing here is fairly low. There's something for everyone, and we have curated the section keeping our festival audience in mind, who love to be surprised by the narratives of these films."
Anupama Chopra is the great force behind the festival and a world renowned journalist and cinema expert. Chopra, the Festival Director of Jio MAMI, added,“With every new edition of the festival, we hope to create a larger impact for all our stakeholders, from filmmakers to audiences. Our commitment to cinema and filmmakers remains at the heart of all that we stand for at the festival, and we hope to emerge as a melting pot of talent from across the world while spotlighting and creating more opportunities for South Asian films and filmmakers”
While their Tributes and Retrospective sections have yet to be announced, the festival did reveal the restored titles, both from the Desh and international, which will participating in the upcoming edition. They are Bugis Street by Yonfan, Chocolat by Claire Denis and Millennium Mambo by Hou Hsiao-Hsien.
Maitreyee Dasgupta, Co-Director, Jio MAMI, concluded, "We are looking forward to hosting the 10-day-long festival that offers a platform for established and emerging filmmakers to be a part of an ecosystem that encourages co-creation and business opportunities. Through the various programmes and competitions, the festival strives to be a destination where filmmakers and audiences feel empowered, heard, and experience the joy of cinema, its impact, and new ideas."
Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, organised by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI), has brought the best of contemporary world cinema and talent to the city of Mumbai since 1997. With its new expanded vision to spotlight South Asian and South Asian diaspora filmmakers, Jio MAMI becomes the Hub for South Asia, discovering and connecting emerging talent to the worldwide festival ecosystem.
Along with celebrating cinematic excellence and bringing joy to our audiences, we aim to facilitate the exchange of ideas and provide easy access to information related to filmmaking, funding, film distribution, business opportunities, and strategic marketing support for films and filmmakers. The festival also conducts a robust Year Round Program that acts as a hub for creators and cinephiles through screenings, networking opportunities, access to labs and workshops for skill development, masterclasses, and, very importantly, creating a community of cinema lovers.
For more info, check out the festival website.