Mumbai International Film Festival to be held with parallel screenings across Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Pune

New Delhi [India], June 7 : Sanjay Jaju, Secretary Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Friday announced the dates of the 18th edition of the Mumbai International Film Festival and what the film and filmmaking enthusiasts can expect from this edition.
At the curtain raiser press conference, Sanjay Jaju shared the details about the MIFF.
He said MIFF will be held from June 15 to 21 at the FD-NFDC Complex, Mumbai. MIFF screenings will also be held at Delhi (Sirifort Auditorium), Chennai (Tagore Film Centre), Pune (NFAI Auditorium) and Kolkata (SRFTI Auditorium). It is being organized through the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC).
Also present on the occasion were Additional Secretary, Neerja Sekhar, PDG, PIB Sheyphali B Sharan and MD, NFDC, Prithul Kumar.
Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short Fiction and Animation, popularly known as MIFF, began in 1990 as BIFF and later re-christened as MIFF.
It is organised by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India. The Organizing Committee of MIFF is headed by the Secretary, I&B and consists of eminent film personalities, documentary makers and senior media officials.
The Opening Film of the 18th MIFF will be "Billy & Molly, an Otter Love Story", which will initiate the festival with screenings in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Pune, and Chennai on June 15, stated in a press release by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.
The theme of the 18th MIFF is 'India in Amrit Kaal'.
The closing film of the festival is the film that wins the Golden Conch and will be showcased on June 21.
The organisers received a record submission of over 1000 films screening 314 films from 59 countries across 61 languages.
118 films selected by the 3 Selection Committees of eminent film experts for the International (25) and National (77) competition sections.
Total 314 films in the MIFF Programming this year.
The festival will have international juries that include eminent film personalities from across the world - Keiko Bang, Barthelemy Fougea, Audrius Stonys, Bharat Bala, and Manas Choudhary, who will award the Golden Conch for the best documentary film, the Silver Conch for the best international short fiction film and best animation film, and the Pramod Pati Award for the most innovative/experimental film.
The national jury for the 18th MIFF comprises notable names such as Adele Seelmann-Eggebert, Dr Bobby Sarma Baruah, Apoorva Bakshi, Munjal Shroff and Anna Henckel-Don nersmarck who will confer the Best Indian Documentary, Short Film, Animation, Best Debut Film Award and Best Student Film Award.
The events will see an artistic melange of cultural acts which will include an act depicting the journey of Indian animation, a cultural performance from Sri Lanka in the opening and from Argentina in the closing ceremony and showcasing the FTII student short Film "Sunflowers were the first ones to know", which won the La Cinef Award at the 77th Cannes Film Festival this year, as per I&B ministry release.
The Gala Red carpet screening will be held in the NFDC-FD complex in Mumbai every day starting from the opening film on June 15.
Not only in Mumbai but red carpets will be held in Delhi on June 17, Chennai on 18 June, Kolkata on June 19 and Pune on June 20 with participation from eminent personalities from the film industry.
This edition of MIFF will have the first-ever Documentary Film Bazaar.
DOC Film Bazaar is being organized to help boost film production by providing a platform for filmmakers to find buyers, sponsors and collaborators for their projects.
A dedicated session to explore the symbiotic relationship between documentary filmmaking and corporate branding. Industry leaders from various industry verticals, like FICCI, will explore the CSR funding of documentaries as powerful tools for brand enhancement and as a catalyst for positive societal impact, as per a press release by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.
The 18th MIFF will host engaging 20 masterclasses, in-conversations and panel discussions with industry luminaries such as filmmakers Santosh Sivan, Audrius Stonys, Ketan Mehta, Richie Mehta, TS Nagabharana, Georges Schwizgebel and many more.