Mumbai, October 24, 2012: – With a superlative precedent set by the stellar film screenings, workshops and open forums events hosted during the days prior, the schedule of events at day 7 of the 14th Mumbai Film Festival, presented by Reliance Entertainment and American Express and organized by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image was the quintessential cinematic indulgence for all attendees.
The eventful day began with the repeat screening of Dimensions Mumbai on popular demand, a short film competition segment featuring works by young Mumbaikars below the age of 25 years depicting aspects of life in Mumbai by, by popular demand.
The afternoon session witnessed an open forum discussion titled ‘Why hasn’t the largest film- producing nation been able to crack Global Audiences? Where is that film from India which has universal, non-Indian, diverse appeal?’ with a highly distinguished panel that included ace Indian filmmakers Ashutosh Gowarikar and Zoya Akhtar, Christian Jeune, Director of the Film Department and Deputy General Delegate of the Cannes Film Festival and Sanjeev Lamba, CEO, Reliance Entertainment. While the discussion provided keen insights into the script writing process and approach of filmmaking that Indian writers would require to adopt in order to appeal to diverse international audiences, the speakers also enlightened attendees about the schematics of film market trends and globally appeal in western territories.
The section was followed by the Masterclass in Creative Production conducted by Gary Kurtz, legendary producer of epic Hollywood films such as Star Wars and The Steal who shared jewels from his personal experiences and highlighted the importance of factors such as effective storytelling, concise scripts and identifying the highlights of a scene. The session was moderated by seasoned film producer Julian Alcantara.
Honoring the genesis of cinema, the last open forum discussion at the festival was a seminar on the Vitality of Italian Cinema that saw luminaries such as celebrated Indian academician, cultural commentator and writer Suresh Chabria, veteran Italian film editor Roberto Perpignani, connoisseur of world cinema and Director of Cinecittà Luce Luciano Sovena, Italo Spinelli , director of Gangor, a feature film based on the work of renowned Bengali writer and activist Mahasweta Devi and the honourable Ambassador of Italy in India Giampaolo Cutillo, moderated by prominent Indian film critic Aruna Vasudev.
Among the works of cinematic genius showcased throughout the day were Augustine by Alice Winocour, Beyond The Hills (Au-Delà des collines), a cinematic masterpiece selected as the Romanian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 85th Academy Awards, by Romania’s first Director to have been awarded the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival Cristian Mungiu, Me and You (Io e Te) the latest film by renowned Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci, Digant (Boundless) a Konkani film by director Dnyanesh Moghe and the eagerly anticipated The Ship Of Theseus by Mumbai-based independent filmmaker and screenwriter Anand Gandhi.
The evening saw the showing of Laurence Anyways by Xavier Dolan as a part of “Rendezvous with French Cinema”, a segment aimed at showcasing works of contemporary French cinema.
Spotted at the event were actors Sushma Reddy and Javed Jaffrey.
T
he 14th Mumbai Film Festival is scheduled from the 18th – 25th October, 2012 at National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) & Inox, Nariman Point, Liberty Cinemas, Marine Lines as the main festival venues and Cinemax, Andheri and Cinemax Sion as the satellite venues.
For further details about the festival, please log onto: to http://www.mumbaifilmfest.com/Mami/index_v2.php?page=home
