Mumbai: Nine silent movies will be screened at the 14th Mumbai Film Festival and veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal said "this is how we are going to celebrate 100 years of Indian cinema" and "bring back the era of silent cinema".
Starting Oct 18, the eight-day fest, a Reliance Entertainment initiative, will showcase over 200 movies, including nine silent films.
"The main thing is going to be the nine restored silent films that will be shown the way it used to be shown in the silent days of Indian cinema.
"The way it used to be shown 100 year ago… with live music," Benegal, chairman Mumbai Academy of Moving Images (MAMI), which organises the fest, told IANS.
He added: "That is how we are going to celebrate the 100 years of Indian cinema. Because that is the experience that nobody has now known or even has the memory of it because none of those people are living. So that will give you an idea of early Indian cinema was like. The silent era will be back."
Apart from that, the fest promises an interesting bouquet of world cinema too.
Festival director Srinivasan Narayanan told IANS: "We are going to get the best of world cinema as we did last year."
Talking about the centenary celebration of Indian cinema, he added that "We are only screening only existing Indian silent films along with a live music."
"For films like `A Throw Of Dice`, we are bringing a group of German artists and they will play music. We are trying to create live music for silent films as a tribute to Indian cinema," said Narayanan.
The festival will also pay tribute to the Italian cinema through a special selection of films in the Celebration of Italian Cinema section.
Benegal said: "Altogether over 200 films will be shown. But among silent films there will be nine and then we will have a whole retrospective of Italian cinema from silent days till now."
This year the festival will move to the south of Mumbai with NCPA and INOX as the festival venue.
Filmmakers Anurag Kashyap and Sudhir Mishra have joined the MAMI board as trustees this year. The festival will introduce a competition section for Indian films this year.
Narayanan said that to celebrate 100 years of Indian Cinema, "Mumbai Film Festival is introducing a competition section for Indian films with the cash reward of Rs.15 lakh.
"These films will be judged by the foreign award winning technicians and directors so that it will be a foreign jury looking at Indian films."
Following last years roaring response to French films, "Rendezvous with French Cinema" will be hosted by the fest in collaboration with the French Embassy in India and Unifrance.
IANS
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.