On Friday, the Union Information and Broadcasting Secretary Sanjay Jaju announced that the 18th edition of the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) will take place in Mumbai from June 15 to 21.
While addressing a press conference at the National Media Centre, Jaju stated that the film gala, which will feature non-feature films (documentary, Short Fiction, and animation) will take place at the FD-NFDC Complex in Mumbai.
In addition, MIFF screenings will be conducted in Delhi at Sirifort Auditorium, Chennai at Tagore Film Centre, Pune at NFAI Auditorium, and Kolkata at SRFTI Auditorium.
The Mumbai International Film Festival, a premier international event in the documentary film sector, has been held once every two years since its inception in 1990.
The 2024 edition will begin with the screening of National Geographic’s documentary ‘Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story’.
The organizers received a record number of 1018 films from 38 nations and 65 languages for the latest edition.
The three selection panels, which included notable film professionals, selected 118 films for the International and National competition sections, as well as 16 films for MIFF PRISM.
The film gala will feature eight world premieres, six international premieres, 17 Asia premieres, and 15 India premieres, as well as special packages.
The first will have 12 short films selected from the Oscars and Berlin Film Festival.
The ‘Special Country Focus’ package will highlight collaborations with seven countries: Russia, Japan, Belarus, Italy, Iran, Vietnam, and Mali.
Another notable package will focus on animated films from four countries: France, Slovenia, Argentina, and Greece.
The international jury, which includes eminent film personalities from around the world such as Keiko Bang, Barthelemy Fougea, Audrius Stonys, Bharat Bala, and Manas Choudhary, will award the Golden Conch for the best documentary film, the Silver Conch for the best international short fiction film and best animation film, and the Pramod Pati Award for the most innovative/experimental film.
The national competition jury consists of Adele Seelmann-Eggebert, Dr Bobby Sarma Baruah, Apoorva Bakshi, Munjal Shroff, and Anna Henckel-Don nersmarck. They will present the best Indian documentary, short film, animation, best debut film award, and best student film award, as well as a slew of technical awards and a special award for the best short film on ‘India in Amrit Kaal’.
Three technical awards for cinematography, editing, and sound design will be presented in both national & and international competitions.
The 18th MIFF will also include 20 seminars, in-conversations, and panel discussions with filmmakers Santosh Sivan, Audrius Stonys, Ketan Mehta, Richie Mehta, T.S Nagabharana, Georges Schwizgebel, and others.
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