Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Shri Sanjay Jaju announced that the 18th edition of the Mumbai International Film Festival will be held from 15th June to 21st June, 2024 in Mumbai. He said that while venue for the festival will be the FD-NFDC Complex, Mumbai, MIFF screenings will also be held in Delhi (Sirifort Auditorium), Chennai (Tagore Film Centre), Pune (NFAI auditorium) and Kolkata (SRFTI Auditorium).

MIFF Film Programming

1. Record Film Submission of 1018 films this year for the competition sections

2. 102 films selected by the 3 Selection Committees of eminent film experts for the International (25) and National (77) competition sections. The Selection Committee also unanimously remarked that very high quality of film submissions has been received this year which made the selections tough.

3. Total 314 films in the MIFF Programming this year from 59 Countries across 61 Languages

4. There will be 8 world premieres, 5 international premieres, 18 Asia premieres and 21 India Premieres.

5. Special packages have been curated in this edition, including:

a. Films package of Oscars and Berlinale (12 short films each)

b. ‘Special Country Focus Packages’ from collaborating with 7 countries – Russia, Japan, Belarus, Italy, Iran, Vietnam and Mali

c. Animation package curated from 4 countries – France, Slovenia, Argentina & Greece

d. Student films from reputed institutes from across the country (45 films)

e. Restored classics package from the NFDC-National Film Archives of India

f. Competition films on the special theme of India at Amrit kaal showcasing the country’s growth, development, and prosperity

g. Films for Divyangjan package for the visually challenged with audio description and sign language descriptions and for the hearing impaired with closed captions.

h. Selected packages of films also on –

i. Wildlife

ii. Mission Life

iii. Films by Asian Women Filmmakers

Opening & Closing Film of MIFF

6. Opening Film of 18th MIFF will be “Billy & Molly, an Otter Love Story”, will initiate the festival with screenings in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Pune, and Chennai on 15th Jun, 2024.

7. The Closing Film of festival is the film that wins the Golden Conch and will be showcased on 21st Jun, 2024.

Jury & Awards

8. Jury for International Competition includes eminent film personalities from across the world – Keiko Bang, Barthélemy Fougea, Audrius Stonys, Bharat Bala, and Manas Choudhary, who 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.

9. Jury for National Competition for 18th MIFF comprises of notable names such as Adele Seelmann-Eggebert, Dr Bobby Sarma Baruah, Apoorva Bakshi, Munjal Shroff and Anna Henckel-Don nersmarck who will confer the Best Indian Documentary, Short Film, Animation, Best Debut Film Award (sponsored by Govt. of Maharashtra) and Best Student Film Award (sponsored by IDPA), in addition to a host of technical awards and a special Award for Best Short Film on “India in Amrit Kaal”.

10. Further, 3 Technical Awards for 1) Cinematography, 2) Editing and 3) Sound Design, will be given common from National & International Competition.

11. A FIPRESCI Jury 3 eminent film crtics will also confer the award for a national competition documentary

12. Total Awards of Rs 42 lacs.

Accessible Festival

13. Films for the visually challenged with audio description and sign language descriptions and for the hearing impaired with closed captions.

14. Besides the special films for the specially abled, NFDC has partnered with Svayam, a not-for-profit organisation to make the MIFF festival venue at NFDC-FD premises fully accessible for people who are differently-abled and also those who have special needs. The accessibility partnership will also ensure that volunteers at the event are senstisised to facilitate delegates with accessibility issues so as to make the experience of visiting delegates seamless.

15. The complete MIFF venues at the NFDC-FD Campus, Mumbai will have interconnecting rain shades with Audis, Buildings and Market Hangers.

Gala Opening /Closing Ceremony & Red Carpets

16. Grand Opening & Closing ceremonies will be held at NCPA, Nariman Point, Mumbai. The events will see an artistic melange of cultural acts which will include an act depicting the journey of Indian animation, a cultural performance from Sri-Lanka in opening and from Argentina in closing ceremony and showcasing the FTII student short Film “Sunflowers were the first ones to know”, which won the La Cinef Award at the 77th Cannes Film Festival this year.

17. Gala Red carpet screening will be held in NFDC-FD complex in Mumbai every day starting from the opening film on 15th June. The other red carpets being planned with the eminent film celebrities.

18. Exclusive Red carpets will also be held at Delhi (17th Jun), Chennai (18th Jun), Kolkata (19th Jun) & Pune (20th Jun) with participation from eminent personalities from the film industry.

Masterclass & Panel Discussions:

19. The 18th MIFF will host engaging 20 masterclasses, in-conversations and panel discussions with industry luminaries such as filmmakers Santosh Sivan, Audrius Stonys, Ketan Mehta, Richie Mehta, T.S Nagabharana, Georges Schwizgebel & many more.

20. Open Forum discussions will be held in collaboration with Indian Documentary Producers Association (IDPA) every day at the vibrant Amphitheatre venue with eminent personalities of the film industry.

21. A workshop on Animation and VFX pipeline has been organized for registered participants.

Doc Film Bazaar:

22. DOC Film Bazaar is being organized for the first time, to help boost the film production by providing a platform to filmmakers to find buyers, sponsors and collaborators for their projects.

23. Close to 200 projects have been received from 10 countries in 27 languages.

24. 3 curated verticals will be organized in the Doc Film Bazaar – ‘Co-production Market’ (16 projects), ‘Work-in-progress (WIP) Lab’ (6 projects) and ‘Viewing Room’ (106 projects).

25. Besides these opportunities for selected projects, there will also be an ‘Open Buyer-Seller Meet’ which will help filmmakers collaborate with buyers and corporates in the realm of production, syndication, acquisition, distribution and sales.

26. A dedicated session to explore the symbiotic relationship between documentary filmmaking and corporate branding. With industry leaders from various industry verticals, like FICCI, will explore the CSR funding of documentaries as powerful tools for brand enhancement and as a catalyst for positive societal impact.

Dedicated Portal & Mobile App for MIFF

27. An interactive website of MIFF has been developed providing engaging details about the films, events and activities planned at the festival www.miff.in

28. A dedicated mobile app has been developed for facilitating participation of delegates in various activities such as prior booking of film screenings, attending masterclasses, open forums, etc. It will also help the festival obtain valuable feedback from the delegates.

Delegate Registrations

29. The Delegate Registrations are simple but mandatory for attending the festival through the website or the QR code provided in promotional material of MIFF.

30. The Delegate Registration are also being provided through Book My Show.

31. There are no extra charges for attending any number of film screenings or masterclasses or Doc film Bazaar.

32. Delegate registration Fees-

a. Mumbai – Rs 500 for attending the entire festival

b. Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata & Pune – Free

c. Student & Press – Free

d. All Delegate registrations are ‘FREE’ fort the next 3 days.

Partnerships

33. This year for the very first time, MIFF has received corporate collaborations from more than 20 brands in the festival. The brands have collaborated with the festival at various levels – from sponsoring various aspects of the festival to bringing in expertise to strengthen the festival.

Background

MIFF is the oldest and largest film festival for non-feature films (Documentary, Short Fiction & Animation) in South Asia and a premier international event of the documentary film world, since it started in 1990. It is a biennial event organized once in 2 years.

MIFF provides a platform for documentary filmmakers from all over world to meet, exchange ideas, explore the possibilities of co-productions and marketing of documentary, short and animation films and also broaden the vision of filmmakers’ vis-a-vis world cinema. The festival will provide a platform for more conversations and discussions on the documentary, animation and short films front; aimed at fostering artistic expression and proving to be a creative catalyst to the filmmakers and attendees alike.

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Ajay KR