MAMI film fest 140 films & 45 countries to participate

Mumbai, Feb 23 (IANS) As many as 140 films from 45 countries, a special short film segment and a retrospective of Ritwik Ghatak's works - the upcoming edition of Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image's (MAMI) International Film Festival has all this and more in store for cine buffs.

Shyam Benegal, chairman of MAMI, announced here Saturday that the 10th edition of the film festival is scheduled for March 6-13.

The festival will confer the Global Lifetime Achievement Award to renowned Spanish director Carlos Saura for his contribution to world cinema.

Saura, along with his wife and a five-member Spanish delegation, is expected to attend the award ceremony in Mumbai. A panel of filmmakers from Mexico, France and several other European countries are also slated to attend the event, a statement by MAMI said.

MAMI has also introduced a new five-minute digital film competition called 'Dimensions Mumbai' for the city's youth below 25 years. The best entry will win a cash prize of Rs.150,000.

The contest aims to nurture budding talent and provide a platform to a new generation of filmmakers.

Presented by Reliance Big Entertainment of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, the weeklong festival will see the screening of 140 films from 45 countries in Adlabs Wadala, Metro Adlabs and Cinemax Versova.

On the awards night, which will mark the end of the extravaganza, actors Dharmendra and Rishi Kapoor, writers Gulzar and Hitendra Ghosh will be felicitated for their contributions to the Indian film industry.

Evergreen actor Dev Anand will preside over the closing ceremony as the chief guest and will present the awards.

The gala night will screen the best Indian films, selected by a special five-member international jury, and Japanese film 'The Mourning Forest'. The movie won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007.

There will also be a retrospective of the works of Ritwik Ghatak and Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda.

The festival will see the Asian premiere of Wajda's 'Katyn', nominated for an Oscar this year in the foreign film category.

Another highlight of the fest is Italian silent film 'Pinocchio' (1911), restored by Cineteca, that will be screened with live music.

Audiences will also get to see 'To Each of His Own Cinema', made by 35 international directors to celebrate 60 years of the Cannes Festival.