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Cineastes attending the 15th edition of Mumbai Film Festival will be spoilt for choice
Cineastes will be spoilt for choice with the 15th edition of Mumbai Film Festival.
Director Shyam Benegal, chairman of the Moving Academy of Mumbai Images that is organising Mumbai Film Festival, says cineastes attending the 15th edition of the movie extravaganza are in for a treat. “It’s a situation that I have been dreaming about, to have the cream of world cinema and films of such quality (in the festival),” says Benegal. There are packages from Afghanistan, Cambodia and Spain, documentaries and a sidebar “Celebrate Age” that features films highlighting issues of the elderly. With an impressive bouquet of 200 films, many of which have won top honours at Cannes, Venice and Berlin, one has to agree with Benegal’s sentiment. Here is a list of some not-to-bemissed gems: Qissa Anup Singh’s Punjabi film won the NETPAC Award at the recently concluded Toronto International Film Festival. Starring Irrfan Khan, Tisca Chopra, Rasika Dugal and Tillotoma Shome, the film is set against India’s partition and sees Khan as a Sikh patriarch, who brings up one of his daughters as a son. The Butler The Butler is inspired by a Washington Post article on Eugene Allen, an African-American butler who served 30 years in the White House. Forest Whitaker (the butler) is the man who sees eight presidents come and go and simultaneously witnesses the highs and lows of American politics. Did we mention that it’s got Oprah starring in it too? Salinger This documentary sheds light on the reclusive, enigmatic author of the all-time favourite The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger. Filmmaker Shane Salerno uses opinions of Tom Wolfe, Martin Sheen, Edward Norton, John Cusack, Gore Vidal and Judd Apatow to create a vivid portrait of Salinger. The Past Academy Award-winning Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, who will also be the jury president of the India Gold sidebar of the festival, brings yet another family drama after A Separation, which became a sensation. Ahmad (Ali Mosaffa) visits Paris to finalise the divorce with his wife Marie (Bérénice Bejo) only to discover that things are not all right with her. Before Midnight Fans of Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise and Before Sunset series cannot miss the final chapter in the romantic journey of Celine (Julie Delpy) and Jesse (Ethan Hawke). More insightful conversations and amazing chemistry guaranteed. Blue is the Warmest Colour It’s unlikely this French love story will be released in India without the Central Board of Film Certification cutting the racy 10-minute lovemaking scene between the two female leads—Lea Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos. That makes this Palm d’Or winner a must-see.