The 18th Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) to be held from 15 June till the 21st is the oldest and largest film festival dedicated to documentary, short fiction, and animation films in South Asia. The opening film to be screened on the 15th is Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story (2024) featuring Billy Mail and Susan Mail and is from the UK and its Director is Charlie Hamilton-James.
Established in 1990 as the Bombay International Film Festival now with Bombay becoming Mumbai, MIFF has grown into a vibrant platform showcasing the finest works by Indian and international filmmakers. It is organized biennially by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and executed by its nodal agency, National Film Development Corporation (NFDC).
The seven day long fest will screen over 314 films out of over 1,000 entries received this year. Documentaries, shorts films and animations from 59 countries are in the fray, and the best of them will be awarded the coveted Golden Conch and Silver Conch, along with trophies and cash prizes with the prize money totalling upto Rupees 42 Lakhs.
Highlight of this edition is that it will have the First-ever Doc-Film Bazaar to provide a platform to filmmakers to collaborate with industry experts.
This year’s theme is “India in Amrit Kaal” where screening of non-feature films showcasing the growth, development and prosperity of India and it has 6 selections in the National Competition section. A special package this year consists of – Mission Life: 5 films on issues relating to the campaign to come together and take up Lifestyle for Environment, Wildlife Films: 4 films of wildlife from India and around the world, Asian women Filmmakers: 5 films, Oscar Shorts and Berlinale Shorts: Collection of 12 Oscar Winning and 12 Berlinale short films. 5 restored classics from the National Film Archives of India (NFAI) will be screened.
The Country-Focus Films are a total of 17 films from Japan, Russia, Belarus, Iran, Italy, Vietnam, and Mali at the Mumbai International Film Festival.
The International Jury comprises of Keikio Bang, Producer-Director Audrius Stonys, Sound Designer Manas Choudhary, Barthelemy Fougea and Bharat Bala.
Another first at the 18th MIFF is the Doc Film Basaar which shall provide a platform to filmmakers to find buyers, sponsors and collaborators. The Major sections include the Co-Production Market with 16 selected curated projects, Work-In-Progress Lab where 6 selected projects to be mentored, the Viewing Room having 106 projects and an Open Buyer-Seller Meet. All these initiatives will promote collaborations in the realm of production, syndication, acquisition, distribution and sales.
Open Forums discussions will be held in collaboration with Indian Documentary Producers Association (IDPA) every day at the vibrant Amphitheatre venue. And finally, for the first time, MIFF has received corporate collaborations from more than 20 brands in the festival.
The brands have collaborated with Mumbai International Film Festival at various levels – from sponsoring various aspects of the festival to bringing in expertise to strengthen the festival.
– PARESH B. MEHTA
