Last year, when everyone was busy writing obits for the Mumbai Film Festival (MAMI) after sponsors pulled out, one person was feverishly liaising with people to put together a revival plan. The show went off well, and less than 10 months later, film critic Anupama Chopra, the lady who refused to give up, has been named the director of the 17th MAMI, to be held from October 29 to November 5. She hopes the festival will go on for a long, long time and celebrate films from across the world. Excerpts from an interview…
Is there any particular theme/genre that will dominate the fest this time?
Our only criterion is going to be quality. Anything that is good and deserves to be shown will be shown. We are also looking at films that are unlikely to find mainstream distribution. I saw a whole bunch of terrific films at Cannes and Berlin and we would like to bring them too. We want to create a showcase for the best of Indian cinema too (handled by Beena Paul and Deepti DCunha). If you remember, the much-feted Court won the top award at MAMI last year.
How important are small films in your scheme of things?
Very, very important. We need to provide them a platform. Mainstream does not need a festival; it is already big. Our idea is to source quality content and enhance viewer experience. Young viewers have been raised on mainstream cinema, but there’s a great shift in what they want to see. We must nourish them.
You’ve been to so many film festivals, here and abroad. How are those experiences going to impact this festival?
MAMI is a very young festival — it’s just our 17th edition. Berlin and Cannes are the masters. From them, we can learn how to create this incredible cocktail of glamour, great art and commerce. Like Shah Rukh Khan says, cinema is a mix of Saraswathi and Lakshmi. We cannot turn our nose up at commerce. These festivals have managed to bring great movies, and combined it with an amazing market. The glamour brings people to the little towns. The trick is to bring all these elements together and mix them judiciously. But, programming is the star, and that cannot be compromised. Everything else must be built around it.
What does MAMI mean to you?
I just used to be a film critic and journalist covering MAMI. I got involved when it looked like MAMI was going to shut down. That would have been terrible. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I’d be its director one day! Now, MAMI is almost my entire life. I’m very emotionally invested in putting this festival back on its feet. If not in Mumbai, where will you have a festival to celebrate films?
What are your hopes from MAMI 2015?
I want people to take back memories of great cinema, and have a sense of ownership about the festival. We have to aim really high to set a standard and I will go by Samuel Beckett’s words: ‘Try again, fail again, fail better’. We have to keep at it and create something world class.
( MAMI is accepting entries for this year’s edition.
For details, visit www.mumbaifilmfestival.com )
