Truncated and low key, and “very concentrated” in terms of its scale, scope and sweep, it may be, with its mega title sponsor and financial anchor and facilitator Jio severing ties after 10-year association, as per business plan, brought before cineastes of the City of Dreams by Mumbai Academy of Moving Image better known by its magical acronym – MAMI.

However, true to its tradition, and billing as the premier film gala in India which kick starts the film festivals season in the country, the 24th Edition of MAMI Mumbai Film Festival has left no stone unturned in showcasing the crème la crème of cinemas before its legion of diehard and avowed cine buffs.

Led, and spearheaded by its enterprising Artistic Director Deepti Dcunha ably supported by Interim Festival Director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Co-Director Maitreyee Dasgupta, and more importantly Head of International Programme Anu Rangachar and its ensemble and enthusiastic young team, MAMI MFF, scaled down on several fronts, has seen that “the best of contemporary world cinema and talent” that have been creating the buzz at film and art house circuits across international film festival, did not miss their mandatory MAMI MFF date.

Reputed for presenting the best of cinemas and, more importantly,“foster a larger ecosystem for cinematic voices in South Asia,” given its “expanded vision to spotlight South Asian and South Asian diaspora filmmakers,”such that “MAMI MFF becomes the hub for the world to discover emerging South Asian talent and contemporary cinema,” this year too, has ensured its “handpicked films from across genres, carefully selected based on artistic merit, cultural diversity,and relevance to contemporary issues,” is showcasing“creative expressions theater-evaluate cinematic conventions and investigate non-narrative forms, including those that are underrepresented in mainstream cinema.”
Having successfully sojourned over two decades and seven seasons “celebrating cinematic excellence and bringing joy to our audiences,”besides fostering and facilitating“exchange of ideas and easy access to information related to filmmaking, funding, film distribution, business opportunities, and strategic marketing support for films and filmmakers,” MAMI MFF flagged off its six-day celebration of global cinema, creativity, community, and culture, showcasing over 110 plus films culled and curated from over 45 countries—spanning 50 plus languages with screenings at the iconic Regal, Art deco movie theatre nestled on the Colaba Causewayand five screens of Juhu PVR.

That the six day cinematic festivities of 24th Edition of MAMI MFF was kicked off by Maximum City’s and Metropolis of Dream Merchants very own Payal Kapadia’s Cannes Award Winner All We Imagine As Light, set in and paying home to the India’s Commercial Capital & Bollywood seemed to be a kind of poetic justice, since, as Interim Festival Director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur sought to explain, and put in perspective, it being “just MAMI” the 24th Edition rightfully recalibrated itself having “moved on, and changed,” to “set the tone for independent cinema. Far more of that kind of cinema would be seen, showing and showcasing the best of cinemas in India, and our regional cinemas. That is one thing which has so beautifully come out this year. The real Indian ethos and culture is within our Indian cinema, our regional cinema.”

In the fitness of things, Friday, the historic 92-year-old Regal Cinema, saw the Malayalam-Hindi All We Imagine As Light, winner of Grand Prix at Cannes Film Festival, in May, opening the annual carnival of cinematic celebrations, while actress Shabana Azmi was bestowed with the Excellence in Cinema Award by legendary actor WaheedaRehman in recognition of her contributions toIndian Cinema, as the six day festivities got underway.

Justifying her film being the MAMI opener, as proud and gushing Payal Kapadia noted: “It’s a Mumbai film.”So true, with the film capturing the entrails of Mumbai in all its glory and fault lines.

The 24th Edition of MAMI MFF which will close with Sean Baker’s Anora which picked the Palmed’Or, at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, will also be featuring Sandhya Suri’s Santosh, alongside number of Indian films such as Agent of Happiness by Arun Bhattarai, Kiss Wagonby Midhun Murali, Nocturnes by Anirban Dutta & Anupama Srinivasan, Pooja, Sir by DeepakRauniyar, Rhythm Of A Flower by Amit Dutta, The Fable by Raam Reddy, Village Rockstars 2 by Rima Das, A Fly On TheWall by Nilesh Maniyar& Shonali Bose,Angammal by Vipin Radhakrishnan, Boongby Lakshmipriya Devi, Humans In The Loop byAranya Sahay,Blind Spot by Nitin Baid, Claws and Teeth by Srujan Belli, Free As A Bird by Aditya Khude, In Retreat byMaisam Ali, Marching In The Dark by KinshukSurjan,Tracker by Udit Khurana, and WildFlower Garland by UdayrajPJ.

Among other films include The Ancient by Suman Ghosh,My Melbourne by ensemble directors Imtiaz Ali, Kabir Khan, Onir, Rima Das, The Shameless by Konstantin Bojanov,Shambhala by MinBahadur Bham,ShuchiTalat’s Girls Will Be Girls,Little Jaffna by LawrenceValin,The Real Superstar by Cédric Dupire,The Sharp Edge of Peace by Roya Sadat,Go Noni Go by Sonal Dabral, Ghamasaan by Tigmanshu Dhulia, and DespatchKanu Behl.

These films featuring in the South Asian Competition, Focus: South Asia and Gala Premier sections.

But the crowd puller and the pivot of film festivals being its Contemporary World Cinemas, MAMI MFF boasts of several show stealing award winners which have been part of film festivals elsewhere abroad.

Among much acclaimed and appreciated, as also few awarded films, in the expansive World Cinema Section, featuring around 41 films, of this year, include The Room Next Door by Pedro Almodóvar, The Substance by Coralie Fargeat, Harvest by Athina Rachel Tsangari, April by Dea Kulumbegashvili, Armand by Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel, A Different Man by Aaron Schimberg,A Traveler’s Needs by Hong Sangsoo, Edge Of Night by Türker Süer, Emilia Pérez by Jacques Audiard, Kill The Jockey by Luis Ortega, On Becoming A Guinea Fowl by Rungano Nyoni, The Damned by Roberto Minervini, The Girl with the Needle by Magnus von Horn, The Substance by Coralie Fargeat, The Village Next To Paradise by Mo Harawe, The Wolves Always Come At Night by Gabrielle Brady and Viet And Nam by Trương Minh Quý.
An Urban Allegory by Alice Rohrwacher, JR, An Unfinished Film by Lou Ye, Blue Sun Palace by Constance Tsang, Christmas Eve In Miller’s Point by Tyler Taormina, Cloud by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Diciannove by Giovanni Tortorici, Dying
By Matthias Glasner, Good One by India Donaldson, Happyend by Neo Sora, It’s Not Me by Leos Carax, Kneecap by Rich Peppiatt, Love by Dag Johan Haugerud, Misericordia by Alain Guiraudie, No Other Land by Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, The Remarkable Life Of Ibelin by Benjamin Ree, Riefenstahl by Andres Veiel, Rumours by Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson, Russians At War by Anastasia Trofimova, Sasquatch Sunset by David Zellner, Nathan Zellner, Sex by Dag Johan Haugerud, The Sparrow in the Chimneyby Ramon Zürcher, and Universal Language by Matthew Rankin, are among films one could explore as well..

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S VISWANATH is a veteran film critic who officiates as JURY at several National & International Film Festivals. He deputises as CHIEF CINEMA CURATOR/PROGRAMMER & CREATIVE ADVISOR for Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFes). He also curates & advises on the selection of shorts & documentaries for Bengaluru International Short Film Festival (BISFF). Mr Viswanath is the author of “RANDOM REFLECTIONS: A Kaleidoscopic Musings on Kannada Cinema”.