Mumbai, October 2014: The 16th edition of the Mumbai film festival organized by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) will be held from 14th - 21st October 2014 at PVR Cinema Andheri and Cinemax Versova as the main venue. The jury for 16th Mumbai Film Festival includes renowned names and faces to judge sections like International Competition, Dimension Mumbai and India Gold.
International Competition section will be judge by Peter Webber, Mahamat Saleh Haroun, Ritesh Batra and Ron Mann. Peter Webber is a well known veteran British film and television director. He is best known for his debut feature, Girl With A Pearl Earring and Hannibal Rising. Mahamat-Saleh Haroun is a well known film writer and director from Chad who has lived in France since 1982. Born in Chad, he moved to France where he studied film and worked as a journalist. He is well for A Screaming Man, Dry Season and Our Father. Ritesh Batra is an Indian film director and screenwriter most known for his bittersweet romantic comedy, The Lunchbox (2013). Loved by all and everywhere on the planet, The Lunchbox is remarkably the young director’s first feature film. Born in Mumbai in 1979, he moved to New York where he studied cinema. Toronto-based filmmaker Ron Mann is one of Canada’s foremost documentary filmmakers. Mann established his international reputation while in his twenties with a series of award-winning theatrical documentaries, including Imagine the Sound (1981), Poetry in Motion (1982), Comic Book Confidential (1988), Twist (1992), and Grass (1999). Ron’s other films include Go Further (2003), Tales of the Rat Fink (2006), Know Your Mushrooms (2008), and In the Wake of the Flood (2010).
Dimensions Mumbai section will be judge by Huma Qureshi, Rajeev Masand, Satish Kaushik, Gauri Shinde and Homi Adajania. Huma Qureshi caught the attention of mainstream and indie film world alike with her delightful performance in Anurag Kashyap’s crime saga Gangs of Wasseypur. Paired opposite Nawazuddin Siddiqui, she sketched the role of Mohsina with a palatable blend of innocence and strength. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at Asia Pacific Film Festival for her role in Gangs of Wasseypur. Back home, she received nominations at almost all major film awards including Filmfare, Star Screen and Zee Cine Awards. Rajeev Masand, the Entertainment Editor of CNN IBN, is one of the foremost Indian television film critics and hosts. His show Now Showing is widely popular and known for spotting trends early on. He covers Bollywood, Hollywood, World Cinema and new Hindi cinema with equal ease and élan. Rajeev was thrice adjudged ‘Best Entertainment Critic’ by the National Television (NT) Awards, in 2008, 2010 and 2011. Satish Kaushik, a graduate of the National School of Drama (NSD) and the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), is a widely acclaimed Indian actor, writer and director known for his roles in Shekhar Kapur’s Mr. India, Sarah Gavron’s Bricklane and David Dhawan’s Deewana Mastana. He started his film career by assisting Shekhar Kapoor on his 1983 film Masoom. He directed his first feature film Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja in 1993. His other directing credits include Prem and Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain. He has also written the dialogues for Kundan Shah’s cult comedy, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro. Gauri Shinde made her directorial debut with English Vinglish (2012), a film that travelled to film festivals besides wooing audiences back home. It world premiered at Toronto International Film Festival and won her the Filmfare award for best debut director. The widespread acclaim that the film received got her featured in the Financial Times 2012 list of ‘25 Indians to Watch’. She is a well known advertising filmmaker with more than 100 films to her credit. Even her commercials are known for breaking gender stereotypes and making bold social statements. Homi Adajania, a certified CMAS diving instructor, entered the film industry by directing and co-writing the English-language psychological drama Being Cyrus (2006) starring Saif Ali Khan, Naseeruddin Shah, Dimple Kapadia, and Boman Irani. His second directorial venture was the Hindi-language romantic comedy Cocktail (2012), a runaway hit. His latest offering, the satirical comedy Finding Fanny was received warmly by Indian audiences and travelled to Busan International Film Festival.
India Gold section will be judge by Goran Paskaljevic, Prasanna Vithanage, Bai Ling and Serge Bromberg. Born in Belgrade, Goran Paskaljevic studied film directing at the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU). He is known for films like Cabaret Balkan (1998), Midwinter Night’s Dream (2004) and How Harry Became a Tree (2001). He has directed many documentaries and TV dramas for TV Belgrade. He directed his first feature film, Beach Guard in Winter in 1976, which was screened at the 26th Berlin International Film Festival. He made over 30 documentaries and 13 feature films shown and acclaimed at the most prestigious international film festivals including Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Toronto and San Sebastian. Prasanna Vithanage is a Sri Lankan filmmaker. His films have won many awards, both local and international, and have also been commercially successful. In his early theatre work, he translated and produced plays by international writers, and has adapted works of world literature to film. In 1992, he directed his first film, Sisila Gini Gani (Ice of Fire). Four years later, he released his second feature Anantha Rathriya (Dark Night of the Soul, 1996), based on Leo Tolstoy’s last novel Resurrection. It was shown at several international film festivals and won a Jury’s Special Mention in the First Pusan International Film Festival. Born in the southern city Cheng Du of China, Bai Lingbegan her career at the age of 14. She first gained the attention of audiences and critics alike when she won the lead role opposite Richard Gere in Jon Avnet’s Red Corner. She received numerous accolades including the prestigious Breakthrough Performance Award from the National Board of Review. She also garnered the Discovery Star awarded by the Hollywood Women’s Press Club for their Golden Apple Awards. Her film Southland Tales, directed by Richard Kelly, was in competition at Cannes Film Festival. Serge Bromberg is a veteran French documentary film producer and occasional director. His production credits include Inferno (2009), The Extraordinary Voyage (2011) and Jean Vigo: Le son retrouvé (2001). He founded sound restoration laboratory for old films, The Diapason, in 2003 and the production company, Films Steamboat, in 2006. He has directed three short films and a medium-length film.
Register immediately on http://www.mumbaifilmfest.com and be a part of the eight-day film extravaganza with notable array of film– screenings, academic activities and networking.
