Parallel screening of short films dropped from Jio MAMI

A parallel screening of two shorts, dropped from the Jio MAMI 20th Mumbai Film Festival With Star due to their association with those accused of harassment as part of the #MeToo association, will be held in Mumbai on Tuesday.

Three shows each of the anthology of shorts—Shazia Iqbal’s Bebaak (produced by Anurag Kashyap and Ajay Rai) and Atul Mongia’s Awake (produced by Vikramaditya Motwane)—are scheduled to be held at The View theatre in Andheri at 9pm, 10pm and 11pm.

Kashyap tweeted that it was an open invite to anyone who wanted to see the films and that Iqbal and Barkha Sawhney could be reached out for the invites through DMs to their Twitter accounts @shazarch and @barkhasawhney17.

“We want the film to be seen,” said Iqbal about opting for a parallel screening. The idea behind this move was for the makes to put their word across to other festivals lest they too decide to follow suit, she added. “It’s a lost battle at MAMI but hope others festivals will give this a thought now,” said Iqbal. She, along with some members of the cast and crew of the film, intend wearing black at the screenings in silent protest.

The organisers also wanted to screen Kanu Behls’ short Binnu Ka Sapna (produced by Terribly Tiny Tales) but things did not work out.

The Hindu tried to reach out to its makers but could not get a response. A few long-term associates of Mami that we reached out to couldn’t recollect any instance of parallel screenings in the previous editions of the festival.