MAMI slate announced: Anatomy of a Fall, Maestro, Anurag Kashyap’s Kennedy to be screened 

The Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival is all set to be held from October 27 to November 5 this year. There will be over 250 films which will be screened at the festival.

Farhan Akhtar, Rana Daggubati, Siddharth Roy Kapur, Vikramaditya Motwane, Zoya Akhtar, Rohan Sippy, Ajay Bijli and Anupama Chopra unveiled the line-up for the festival at a press conference on Monday. The slate includes over 40 World premieres, 45 Asia premieres, and 70+ South Asia premieres. 

The notable films that will be showcased at the festival this year include Palme d'Or winner Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Triet, Bradley Cooper’s Maestro and Beyond Utopia by Madeleine Gavin that won the Audience Award at Sundance Film Festival. Anurag Kashyap’s Kennedy, Vikramaditya Motwane’s Indi(r)a’s Emergency and screenwriter Varun Grover’s directorial All India Rank are also among the highlights of the festival.

The festival announced the following key categories (competition & non-competition):

1.       South Asia Competition: Through this competitive section, the festival showcases 14 breakthrough contemporary South Asian films in diverse languages.

Highlights: Mithya by Sumant Bhat, Barir Naam Shahana (A House Named Shahana) by Leesa Gazi, The Red Suitcase by Fidel Devkota

2.       Focus South Asia (Non- Non-Competition): This section features films from the South Asian Diaspora that highlight and celebrate the diversity of the region. Featuring a potpourri of lengths, languages, storytelling methods, and forms, the films in this section spotlight talent from South Asia and the South Asian diaspora and underline the wealth of narratives that make up the South Asian experience. It includes 46 films across lengths.

Highlights: All India Rank by Varun Grover, Pushtaini by Vinod Rawat, Stolen by Karan Tejpal, Mai by Milin Dhamade

3.       Icons South Asia: This section features iconic films by prominent South Asian talent.

Highlights: Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam by Anand Patwardhan, Indi(r)a's Emergency by Vikramaditya Motwane, Paradise by Prasanna Vithanage, Something Like an Autobiography by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki

4.       Gala Premier South Asia: This section features a selection of the most ambitious Indian films of the year. It showcases established talent and distinct directorial voices from across the country.

Highlights: Kennedy by Anurag Kashyap, Sharmajee ki Beti by Tahira Kashyap, Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa by Rajat Kapoor

5.       Marathi Talkies: Launched in 2016, the section showcases the best of contemporary Marathi cinema. Marathi Talkies is a platform for Jio MAMI to showcase a larger selection of contemporary voices from its home region (Maharashtra). This year the section is curated by Sachin Chate.

Highlights: Aatmapamphlet (Auto-bio Pamphlet) by Ashish Bende, Ved by Riteish Deshmukh, Dhekun (Bedbug) by Kshitij Joshi, Vaalvi by Paresh Mokashi

6.       Dimensions Mumbai: Dimensions Mumbai was first introduced to Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival in 2009 by Ms 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.

Highlights: Should I Kill Myself, Or Have A Cup Of Coffee? By Vidar Joshi, Halfway by Kumar Chheda, City of Mirage by Anjani Chadha

7.       World Cinema: This iconic section features critically acclaimed cinema from around the world created within the calendar year of the festival.

Highlights: Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Triet, 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 Almodovar, The Old Oak by Ken Loach, Fallen Leaves by Aki Kaurismaki, La Chimera by Alice Rohrwacher, The Beast by Bertrand Bonello, Maestro by Bradley Cooper.

8.       After Dark: Curated by BIFAN's Jongsuk Thomas Nam, the section showcases the most thrilling features from across the world.

Highlights: Oldboy (Restored) by Park Chan-wook, Late Night with the Devil by Cameron Cairnes, Colin Cairnes, Dream Scenario by Kristoffer Borgli, Night of the Bride by Virat Pal

9.       Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films: Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films acknowledges the growing importance of the short film format. It aims to celebrate original short films and help aspiring young filmmakers get an opportunity to showcase their work on the large screen. The Perfect Ten competition, which is a part of the Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films, is open to films under 10 minutes made by Indian filmmakers.

Highlights: Badminton by Dibakar Banerjee, Next, Please by Rishav Kapoor, Themb (The Drop) by Shrirang Phatak

10.   Restored Classics: The festival is deeply committed to honouring and preserving cinematic legacy. This section showcases digitally restored classic films from India and around the world.

Highlights: Bugis Street by Yonfan, Chocolat by Claire Denis, Millennium Mambo by Hou Hsiao-Hsien.

11.   Recap: The section revisits MAMI’s selection from 2020 and 2022.

Highlights: The Rapist by Aparna Sen, Dostojee by Prasun Chatterjee, A Night of Knowing Nothing by Payal Kapadia

Speaking at the press conference, Deepti D’Cunha, Artistic Director, Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, 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.”