The 17th Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) for documentary, short fiction and animation films is being hosted at the Films Division complex from May 29 to June 4. The opening ceremony of the one-week festival is taking place at the Nehru Centre, Worli, while the screening of the movies is scheduled to take place at the state-of-the-art auditoriums of the Films Division Complex, which also includes the National Museum of Indian Cinema.
Swati Bhat
Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting Dr. L Murugan and Mumbai International Film Festival's Director Ravinder Bhakar arrived at the venue for the opening ceremony on Sunday evening. The guests were given a grand traditional Marathi welcome at the gate with Shankhs and Sringa playing in the background.
As a fitting tribute to the golden jubilee of the liberation of Bangladesh, it has been made ‘Country of Focus’ during the 17th Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF). A special package of 11 films from Bangladesh including critically acclaimed film Hasina- A Daughter’s Tale will be presented at India’s foremost documentary film festival MIFF 2022. The festival starting from Sunday, 29 May 2022 in Mumbai will feature documentary, short fiction and animation films from across the globe.
The films in the ‘Country of Focus’ category from Bangladesh will include the ‘Hasina: A Daughter’s tale’ which depicts the persona of the iconic political figure and its current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Directed by Piplu R Khan, the film has won critical acclaim internationally.
The films in the country focus section trace the memories of Bangladesh liberation war and the sacrifices made by the people of the country for independence.
Films like ‘Not a Penny Not a Gun’, ‘Jolo Guerrilla’ derive their inspiration from 1971 war which liberated Bangladesh from Pakistan. These films detail the pain and agony suffered by Bangladeshi people in their pursuit of freedom. ‘Jothorleena’ directed by Dilara Begum Jolly is a film which follows the extra ordinary life of Bangladeshi writer Roma Chowdhury and her battle against the untold agony inflicted upon her by war. ‘Kaan Pete Roi’ directed by Mofidul Hoque is also a touching portrayal of the ordeal of a Mathematics lecturer who took a bold stand against the atrocities during 1971 war.
Other films like Silence (Nisshobdotar Shohor), directed by Amitabh Reza Chowdhury, Ripples, directed by Suborna Senjutee, Garden Memories directed by Humaira Bilkis and Born Together (Janmsathi) directed by Shabnam Firdousi deal with social issues are among those included in the country focus section.
This year MIFF received a whopping 808 entries from 30 countries, from which 102 movies are selected to be screened at the festival. The Best Documentary received in the entries will be awarded the title of Golden Conch with a cash price of Rs. 10 lakh. In a previous statement, the I&B Ministry stated, "The Best Documentary at the Festival will receive a Golden Conch and ₹10 lakhs as cash prize. Since India is currently celebrating [75 years of independence] Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, in this year’s MIFF edition, a special award will be awarded to the best short film on the theme ‘India@75’."
The latest Tweet by PIB India states, '#MIFF is the oldest & largest film festival for non-feature films in South Asia; It is a perfect platform for documentary filmmakers from all over the world to meet, exchange ideas, co-produce and market documentaries, short and animation films -Union Minister @ianuragthakur