New Delhi, 25 November: Renowned actor Jackie Shroff is the brand ambassador for the 14th edition of the Mumbai International Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films in January next.
A record 831 entries have been received for the competition and selection process for the short listing films to international, National, Technical, New Media and Animation competitions has been initiated by the Festival Directorate.
The Jury for International and Nationals competition for the festival being held from 28 January to 3 February will comprise celebrated film makers and personalities from India and abroad.
In another major shift, the screenings of the films in the Festival will be held at the Films Division theatres, Russian Culture Centre and Sophia College theatres at Pedder Road, Mumbai. Until now, the Festival has been held at the Tata Centre at Nariman Point.
The inauguration and closing functions will be held at the Ravindra Natya Mandir, Prabhadevi at 5.00 pm on 28 January and 3 February respectively.
This Festival which is held every alternate year is organized by the Films Division and is supported by the Maharashtra Government.
Films Division Director General and MIFF Director Mukesh Sharma said at a press meet at the 46thInternational Film Festival of India in Panaji, Goa, that it is for the first time in the history of MIFF which began in 1990 that a mainstream artiste will be the brand ambassador of the documentary festival.
A National Award winning actor, Shroff who was present said he will promote MIFF extensively thanks to his love for the short films.
Sharma said Shroff accepted the invitation when he was told about the festival and the role it plays in promoting the documentary movement in India. He said Shroff regards documentaries as catalysts for social change and is planning to make short films to spread awareness about dreaded diseases and on social issues. Shroff was also present.
Buoyed by the warm reception to the MIFF zone screening of competition films in National category in cities other than Mumbai during the 13th MIFF, screenings will be held simultaneously in New Delhi, Chennail, Bangalore, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati, Lucknow, Nagpur and Thrissur. MIFF zone is aimed at taking the competition films to film lovers who are unable to travel to Mumbai for the MIFF. Screenings will also be held at the University auditorium Kalina, Mumbai.
The oldest and largest festival for non-feature films in South Asia, MIFF attracts filmmakers and cineastes from all over the world, thanks to the quality of films in the competition and other sections.
Cash prize worth Rs 5.5 million, Golden Conches, Trophies and Certificates await winners in competitions including technical categories.
The festival will also honour a veteran personality from the Indian documentary fraternity with the V Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award that carries a cash component of Rs. 500,000, trophy and citation, Sharma added.
The festival will have, apart from International and National competition, screening of films in MIFF Prism, Jury retrospectives, Animation and other packages from different countries and festivals, children’s documentary films, North East DD package, FD and PSBT films, homages etc, making it a wholesome viewing experience for the delegates of MIFF-2016. The festival will also have master classes by master film makers, workshops, seminar and Open Forum by IDPA.
