The cinematic reverie continues at Day 3 of the 14th Mumbai
Film Festival
Mumbai, October 20, 2012: – Amidst the excitement at the 3rd Day of the 14th Mumbai Film Festival, presented by Reliance Entertainment and American Express and organized by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image, film buffs were spotted intently planning their schedules to optimally accommodate the day’s most eagerly anticipated events!
Premiering in India after its tour at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and Melbourne International Film Festival, internationally recognized Indian director, screenwriter and film producer Ashim Ahluwalia unveiled his latest feature film Miss Lovely. Set in the lower depths of Bombay’s “C” grade film industry in the mid-1980s, the film follows the devastating story of two brothers who produce sleazy sex-horror films. Present at the event were the star cast of the film debutant Niharika Singh, Minika Lalwani and male lead Anil George.
Also making its India premiere at the festival was Marathi film Balak Palak, the maiden production venture of actor Riteish Deshmukh directed by adman and filmmaker Ravindra Jadhav of Natarang (2010) and Bal Gandharva (2011) fame.
“I’m glad that the 14th Mumbai Film Festival is providing a platform to showcase regional cinema”, said actress Genelia D’Souza who attended the event, “I have only heard the story so far and I can’t wait to watch the film”, she exclaimed dashing into the cinema hall.
The eventful day marked the commencement of the second edition of “Rendezvous with French Cinema”, a segment aimed at showcasing works of contemporary French cinema, with the screening of 2012 French-Belgian film Rust & Bone that was attended by the film’s director Jacques Audiard.
Aficionados of science fiction films were overwhelmed with ecstasy during the afternoon segment that witnessed an open forum discussion between Gary Kurtz, legendary producer of epic Hollywood films such as Star Wars and The Steal and Anubhav Sinha, Indian director of 2011 science fiction superhero film Ra.One, about the similarities and differences in execution from Eastern and Western points of view in the making of science fiction films. Moderated by seasoned film producer Julian Alcantara, the session saw both participants provide invaluable insights into the history and evolution of the sci-fi genre of films.
The evening segment featured a symposium organized in association the Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Chitrapat Mahamandal & the All India Marathi Film Association to discuss the challenges faced by the Marathi film industry. Moderated by actor extraordinaire Vijay Pathak, the presiding panel at the session comprised of producer Govind Nihalani, illustrious film editor N Chandra and an eclectic consortium of film producers and distributors, who offered innovative and unique inputs on how Marathi films could be made of superlative quality and consequently more profitable.
Among the stellar works of cinema screened were Japanese drama film Like Someone in Love by Iranian auteur Abbas Kiarostami, veteran French – German film maker Alain Resnais’ You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet, Japanese yakuza film directed Outrage Beyond by noted director Takeshi Kitano, Kalpana by Indian director Uday Shankar, L & From Tuesday To Tuesday by Babis Makridis and Gustavo Fernandez Triviño respectively, both of whom interacted with the media later during the day.
Attending films at the festival were eminent personalities including filmmakers Anurag Kashyap, Amole Gupte and Onir, actors Arunoday Singh, Sanjay Suri, Ranvir Shorey, Kanwaljit Singh, Raj Zutshi, ace dancer and choreographer Astad Deboo, veteran actress Reema Lagoo, television actress Resham Seth and upcoming filmmaker Nitin Kakkar.
The 14th edition of the 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
