MAMI Mumbai Film Festival Announces 2024 Film Selection: Oscar Winner Santosh Including Village Rockstars 2

WE HAVE 2024

Building on the success of last year’s inaugural edition of the South Asia Competition, the Main Competition section continues to highlight the strongest voices of independent filmmakers from South Asia and its diaspora. The expanded vision of the erstwhile ‘India Gold’, already very popular among independent filmmakers in the country, continues to successfully attract some of the best talent from across the region to compete with their feature films.

This year’s competition features 11 feature films, including a wonderful representation of seven films from South Asia and the diaspora, as well as four Indian films. The offer includes feature films, documentaries and animated films, as well as films produced in international co-productions and independent productions. Five of the directors taking part in the competition are women, and most of the films are South Asian premieres, with a repertoire that includes world, Asian and Indian premieres. Two of the films taking part in the competition are official Oscar entries from individual countries.

The Focus South Asia section includes films of all lengths, with non-fiction films grouped into packages. The out-of-competition feature films in this section offer a diverse and dynamic range of narratives, including two South Asian-themed films by non-South Asian directors. The eclectic selection explores a wide spectrum of unique and challenging experiences, from a deeply personal narrative to a postmodern take on the superstar, making this section a rich exploration of the South Asian experience.

The World Cinema section will present the most famous films of the year. The most popular films include: The Room Next by Pedro Almodóvar, Emilia Pérez by Jacques Audiard, Substance by Coralie Fargeat, A Different Man by Aaron Schimberg, Cloud by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Harvest by Athina Rachel Tsangari, Hangtime by Olivier Assayas, Gossip by Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson , April by Dei Kulumbegashvili and Universal Language by Matthew Rankin.

The festival will open screens across the city to thousands of cinema lovers, offering a selection of the best films from around the world. Among the winners of prestigious international awards such as the winner of the Golden Caméra and the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, the winner of the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, the winner of the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival, the Golden Lion and the winner of the Jury Prize at the International Film Festival in Venice.

MAMI will also show official entries for the 2024 Oscars (aka the Oscars) from countries such as Argentina, Canada, Denmark, France, Ireland, Japan, Nepal, Norway and the United Kingdom.

COMPETITION IN SOUTH ASIA

This is the main competition section of the festival. The section aims to showcase groundbreaking contemporary films of the year from South Asia and the South Asian diaspora.

Featuring films representing 10 languages ​​and 12 countries, the competition exemplifies the festival’s commitment to discovering new talent while supporting the innovative and transformative power of cinema.

Happiness Agent – Arun Bhattarai, Dorottya Zurbó

Nepali, Dzongkha, English | Bhutan, Hungary | South Asian Prime Minister

Girls Will Be Girls by Shuchi Talati

English, Hindi | France, India, Norway | South Asian Prime Minister

Kiss Wagon by Midhun Murali

Malayalam | India | South Asian Prime Minister

Little Jaffna – Lawrence Valin

French, Tamil | France | Asia Premiere

Nocturnes by Anirban Dutta, Anupama Srinivasan

English, Hindi, Bugun | India, USA | South Asian Prime Minister

Pooja, Sir – Deepak Rauniyar | Hindi, Maithili, Nepali | Nepal, Norway, USA | Asia Premiere

Rhythm of a Flower (Phool Ka Chand) by Amit Dutta

Hindu | India | World premiere

Santosh by Sandhya Suri | Hindu | Great Britain, Germany, France, India | South Asian Prime Minister

Shambhala Min Bahadur Bham | Tibetan, Nepali | Nepal, France, Norway, Hong Kong, Turkey, Taiwan, USA | Prime Minister of India

Raam Reddy’s fairy tale | English, Hindi | India, USA | Asia Premiere

Village Rockstars 2 by Rima Das Assamese | India | South Asian Prime Minister

Focus on SOUTH ASIA

MAMI’s non-competitive feature and short film section, created by filmmakers from South Asia and the South Asian diaspora, highlights talent from the region, highlighting the richness of narratives and styles.

Featuring 10 feature films and 13 non-fiction films, the program spans multiple languages ​​and reflects the festival’s commitment to diverse, thought-provoking cinema.

GALA PREMIERES

Non-competitive section presenting a selection of Indian films with popular names in the cast. It showcases the work of both upcoming and established talents.

This specially curated out-of-competition film includes Kanu Behl’s Despatch (starring Manoj Bajpayee, Shahana Goswami), Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Ghamasaan (starring Arshad Warsi, Pratik Gandhi), Sonal Dabral’s Go Noni Go (starring Dimple Kapadia, Manav Kaul), My Melbourne anthology directed by Kabir Khan, Imtiaz Ali, Onir, Rima Das and The Ancient (Puratawn) by Suman Ghosh (with Sharmila Tagore, Rituparna Sengupta and Indraneil Sengupta).

Shipped by Kanu Behl

Ghamasaan by Tigmanshu Dhulia

Go Noni Go by Sonal Dabral

My Melbourne by Kabir Khan, Imtiaz Ali, Onir, Rima Das

Ancient (Puratawn) by Suman Ghosh

WORLD CINEMA

The World Cinema section has been an integral part of the festival since its inception in 1997. In this part you can admire a panorama of the most ambitious and completed new films from around the world.

This section also includes “Encounter with French Cinema”, presenting some of the best works of contemporary French cinematography, in cooperation with the Institut Français en Inde. In addition, selected films were brought to Mumbai thanks to the generous support of the British Council, the Consulate General of Ireland, the Embassy of Spain, the Consulate General of Germany in Mumbai, the Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Mumbai and the Royal Consulate General of Norway. Some of the titles include A Different Man by Aaron Schimberg, A Traveler’s Needs (Yeohaengjaui Pilyo) by Hong Sangsoo, Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point by Tyler Taormina, Good One by India Donaldson, The Girl with the Needle (Pigen med nålen) by Magnus von Horn and The Wild Diamond ( Diamant Brut) Agathe Riedinger.

A RENOVATED CLASSIC

This section was first presented at the festival in 2012. The festival is deeply committed to honoring and preserving cinematic heritage, and this section showcases restored classic films from India and around the world. This curated collection includes 4 films and gives viewers the opportunity to revel in the magic of cinema’s past.

Check out premiere details at www.mumbaifilmfestival.com.