Mumbai: The 21st edition of India’s biggest film festival, sponsored by Reliance Jio and Star, will be held from October 17-24, 2019
The inaugural film will be ‘Moothon’ by Geetu Mohandas. It is for the first time in 21 years a Malayalam film will be opening the festival and it is the second time a film directed by an Indian woman director has been chosen as the opening film.
The eight-day festival will showcase 190 films, including over 50 debuts, 13 world premieres, from 53 countries and in 49 diverse languages. A few of the big ticket films include Marriage Story by Noah Baumbach, Ad Astra by James Gray, Honey Boy by Alma Har'el, The Souvenir by Joanna Hogg, Midsommar by Ari Aster and Sorry We Missed You by Ken Loach.
The multi-talented filmmaker Fernando Meirelles, who is the force behind the critically acclaimed Brazilian film – City of God, will be awarded the Excellence in Cinema Award 2019 (International). There will be a Masterclass with Meirelles on filmmaking.
MAMI will also present the Excellence in Cinema Award to Deepti Naval, who made her debut with ‘Ek Baar Phir', in 1979. Since then Deepti has acted in more than 60 films. Deepti is also a renowned director, painter and photographer.
There are other highlights to encourage young and upcoming film makers, like Spotlight and Dimensions Mumbai, the International Competition. The MAMI board members said they attempt to provide an unique cinematic experience to movie lovers.
Vishal Bhardwaj, Filmmaker and MAMI Board Member said, “Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star is a one of a kind film festival that creates a unique cinematic experience for movie lovers across the country. The lineup is so very diverse and vast.
There is an interesting watch for every kind of film enthusiast. I am excited about everything that the festival has to offer this season.”
Meanwhile, Isha Ambani, Board of Trustees, MAMI, and Director, Reliance Jio and Reliance Retail said, “Over the years, MAMI has established itself as a progressive cinematic medium.
Today, Jio MAMI is recognised as a global platform that enables an exchange of ideas and culture that shapes the world of cinema. It is our endeavour at Jio to work with MAMI and use the powerful medium of cinema to impact and propel social change.”
The announcements were made on Monday at a press meet, where MAMI Board of Trustees Zoya Akhtar, Vishal Bhardwaj, Siddharth Roy Kapur, Rohan Sippy, Mr. Ajay Bijli, along with Festival Director Anupama Chopra and Artistic Director Smriti Kiran were present.
