Do correct me if I’m wrong. The primary purpose of any international film festival is to create awareness about “alternate cinema”. It’s all about stoking the appetite of the neophyte for the amazing strides made in world cinema, and providing an exposure to the new innovative works for the already initiated. Now, the country’s film festival season kicks off on October 18, with the eight-day film spread laid out by the Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image (Mami). Wonderful! But once again it lacks a single-minded vision.
And once again, the festival genuflects before the might of Hollywood by opening Hollywood’s Silver Linings Playbook. Its relevance for the prestigious opening slot can be explained to a degree because of Anupam Kher’s presence in the acting cast, along with Robert De Niro. The point is that this film is bound to be released at the multiplexes shortly. Is the festival’s mission to do promotional screenings, or is to spotlight cinema from various countries?
Previously, too, MAMI has slavishly opened with a Hollywood mainstream product, like the Brad Pitt-vehicle Moneyball, the Matt Damon thriller The Informant and the Facebook saga Social Network. All admirable films, but also easily accessible. How about giving our own Indie films a chance? Or a less marketable option from another country?
Regrettably, quantity over quality is the credo. The more the merrier? Does that work? Like all Indian international film festivals, this one strives to pack in as many films as possible, inclusive of the good, the bad and the ugly. That isn’t a show of a festival’s strength. Rather it leads to overkill. Like it or not, Mami has no USP to boast of though it’ll be its 14th edition this year. The only commendable section, truly, is the showcase of films, which deal with issues of old age. This year, the Mami action shifts largely to south Mumbai. The NCPA complex at Nariman Point will be the festival’s hub, and from all accounts, its screening facilities have been spruced up. Let’s hope the inaugural function doesn’t turn out to be cat cradles of confusion, though what with Bollywood-sourced hosts on the stage bungling up majorly.
Undoubtedly, the attendance of Bollywood film personalities as well as those of the state government will be sought, leading to the predictable round of congratulatory speeches. This year, Waheeda Rehman has accepted the invitation to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, although she had turned it down earlier, on the grounds that she has had her fill of such trophies. Attempts to fly down an eminent international filmmaker or actor have evidently failed. Oh well, c’est la vie.
Curiously, Tina Ambani, who is believed to be driving force of the Mami fest, rarely attends the event. How about a special appearance please?