Mumbai gears up for its biggest film festival organized by MAMI (Mumbai Academy of Moving Image)

The curtains of the 15th Mumbai Film Festival were raised with aplomb at a suburban 5-star, yesterday afternoon. And what caught the attention immediately was the eye-popping number of movies that are scheduled to be screened this time- 200 movies from over 65 countries. This was followed by the announcement of the total cash prizes to be awarded - an astronomical $220,000. These two factors singlehandedly make the 15th Mumbai Film Festival, the grandest ever. Speaking on this momentous occasion, Shyam Benegal, acclaimed filmmaker and Chairman of MAMI expressed his gratitude to Reliance Entertainment and Tina Ambani in particular for their continued support. He also spoke in glowing terms about how MAMI has grown from strength to strength and reached the stature of a truly international festival. Benegal also made a special mention of Afghanistan films which will be screened in MAMI. “It’s truly awe-inspiring that movies have come from Afghanistan in spite of the turmoil that has been brewing the war-torn region,” said Benegal. Filmmaker Ramesh Sippy who was also a part of the meet yesterday said, “I am happy to be a part of MAMI. It brings all kinds of cinema to Mumbai and gives us an opportunity to taste the slice of life through the movies of foreign filmmakers. I beseech you to come, enjoy and partake in this brilliant festival.” Ramesh also made a stunning revelation that the legendary Amitabh Bachchan would be restoring a Charlie Chaplin movie called ‘Floor Walker’ in MAMI. A trailers of a few movies like Barefoot to Goa, 60 going 12, Giraffada were shown giving a glimpse of the magic that will unfold between 17th to 24th October when the festival will open in Mumbai. The jury this year has some high-profile names. The international jury will be presided by director Bruce Beresford and he would be assisted by French actress Nathalie Baye, Japanese filmmaker Masato Harada, actress Konkana Sen Sharma and director Deepa Mehta. MAMI will also be presenting French filmmaker Costa Gavras and Indian icon Kamal Hassan with Lifetime Achievement awards. Also, homage would be paid to the leading Indian luminaries who passed away recently like Yash Chopra, Rituparno Ghosh and Pran. MAMI will be held from 17-24th October at Liberty Cinema, Metro Big Cinema, Marine Lines which would be the main festival venues and Cinemax, Versova which will be the satellite venue.