VIKRAMADITYA MOTWANE CHOOSES JIO MAMI 18^th MUMBAI FILM FESTIVAL WITH STAR FOR THE WORLD PREMIERE OF HIS FILM ‘TRAPPED’

The festival introduces a new section called Spotlight to celebrate the diversity of the Indian cinema

Mumbai, October 10, 2016: Among several firsts, the Jio MAMI 18^th Mumbai Film Festival with Star announces a new category titled ‘Spotlight’. Spotlight is a carefully crafted segment of films that recognises Indian cinema’s historical trajectories, celebrates its creative impulses and explores its futures. The section kicks off with the world premiere of Vikramaditya Motwane’s ‘Trapped’.

Thrilled to have his film ‘Trapped’ premiere for the first time ever, director Vikramaditya Motwane said, “I’m ecstatic, and absolutely petrified, to be premiering my film at MAMI. It’s a film based in Mumbai and it’s apt that its world premiere be here, in the presence of my hometown audience and at a festival I absolutely adore.”

Director Priyadarshan’s Sila Samayangalil, Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s The Bait and Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Once Again (Pinneyum) will be screened at the festival along with Kaagaz Ki Kashti, a documentary on the life of singer Jagjit Singh directed by Brahmanand Singh also with an anthology of short films, Shor se Shuruat by budding directors like Supriya Sharma, Arunima Sharma, Rahul V. Chittela, Pratik Kothari, Amira Bhargava, Annie Zaidi, Satish Raj and Kasireddi.

Spread over the duration of the festival, these films under Spotlight are judiciously selected to highlight various human emotions.

The 18^th edition of the Jio MAMI with Star will screen over 175 films from 54 countries including features, documentaries and short films at the festival.

About the films to be screened at Spotlight:

Sila Samayangalil by Priyadarshan:

Jio MAMI with Star will also host India Premiere of National Film Award-winner Priyadarshan’s Tamil film Sila Samayangalil. The film is a social drama which silently gives away a message on AIDS awareness. With humorous and an emotional narrative, it shows how AIDS has always been looked down upon by everyone.

Kaagaz Ki Kashti by Bhramanand Singh:

Bhramanand Singh’s elegant story telling in Kaagaz ki Kashti will also be showcased during the festival and will leave its mark on the audiences. The film, a biography on the legendary Jagjit Singh, traces the life journey of a down-to-earth, small-town boy, who made it big by breaking through the norms and revolutionising the Ghazal scenario, by texturing traditional Ghazal singing with western instrumentation and making it simple and hummable, enticing new listeners into becoming Ghazal fans.

Once Again (Pineyum) by Adoor Gopalakrishnan:

Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s film revolves around a ghastly murder transpired in Kerala. Life in exile, without love, and without a relationship is no better than death itself. This predicament of a person who may not necessarily be a villain sets us thinking about questions of our concept of happiness, identity, love, human relationships and values that guide us through life.

Tope (The Bait) by Buddhadeb Dasgupta:

The film is woven around three characters: a hapless nomadic girl who is a street circus performer, a seemingly cranky postman who decides to live his life on a tree and of a ‘king’, a royal descendant who thrives on his long lost glories. The worn out ‘king’ has picked up the hobby of hunting from his forefathers. In a frenzy to prove himself in front of his mistress and to the world, he desperately tries to kill a wild tiger but fails. He finally decides to put the bait to trap the animal.

Shor se Shuruat by Supriya Sharma, Arunima Sharma, Rahul V. Chittela, Pratik Kothari, Amira Bhargava, Annie Zaidi, Satish Raj and Kasireddi:

The film is an anthology of mentored shorts around the theme of Shor (Noise). The directors of these short films have been mentored by stalwarts like Mira Nair, Shyam Benegal, Imtiaz Ali, Zoya Akhtar, Nagesh Kukunoor, Sriram Raghavan and Homi Adajania. The varied stories are weaved around the themes of raising your voice, freedom of speech in India, an imaginary world where there is an absence of sound and colour collide and the incessant social media noise and its impact on personal space.

Jio MAMI with Star VISION 2016

The Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star is an inclusive movie feast. We showcase the latest cutting-edge, independent cinema – art house fare alongside genre movies from Bollywood and Hollywood and cult international movies. We offer the best of world cinema to the people of Mumbai and we offer the best of Indian cinema to the world. The festival is run by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image popularly known as MAMI. This is a space where we revel in the sheer pleasure of cinema, the joy it gives us and how much it enhances our lives. The goal is to nurture and ignite a passion for movies. We want Jio MAMI with Star to be shorthand for excellence in cinema.

ABOUT Jio MAMI with Star Film Festival

Mumbai – the financial capital of India is also the epicentre of the Indian film industry. The city plays such a major role in production and dissemination of Indian films and television programs that it is widely known by its acronym ‘Bollywood’.  In 1997, a group of film industry stalwarts headed by late Hrishikesh Mukherjee founded the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) as a not-for-profit Trust. Their main objective was to organise an annual International Film Festival which the film industry and the country could be proud of.  MAMI has been organising the festival for the last 16 years and aims to foster a climate of good cinema. MAMI engages people from all walks of life across the city and country that enjoy and love good cinema. It is Mumbai’s only film festival that is entirely created and run by film professionals and a group of members from corporate India. Appreciation of good cinema, stripped off all the limiting labels of art and commercial, can only come about through exposure to the best of films the world has to offer. The Festival is the first step in that direction.

In their Mission Statement in 1997, the MAMI Board of Trustees said, “We feel it is the need of the hour to disseminate and inculcate good cinema among Indian audiences. The only way to achieve this is to celebrate cinema by hosting an International Film Festival in Mumbai, India’s film and entertainment capital. MAMI (Mumbai Academy of Moving Image) is committed to start Mumbai’s first independent international film festival organized by practicing film makers.”