Latest news with #Dungarpur
Time of India
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
'Cruel irony': Hansal Mehta reacts to cancellation of MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2025
The MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2025 has been cancelled. The news was confirmed on the festival's official social media handle on Monday. The decision was taken to revamp the festival with a "dynamic vision" and a "new team" to ensure that it will return as a premier showcase for the best of independent, regional, and classic cinema from India and around the world, said festival director Dungarpur in a statement. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "We are working diligently to reschedule the festival and will announce the new dates for the 2026 edition as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding and support," he added. The move comes as a major hiccup for the festival that has had a fair run since it was founded in 1997. Reacting to the same, filmmaker , whose 'Aligarh' and 'The Buckingham Murders' were earlier premiered at the festival, voiced his discontent. "It's a cruel irony that Mumbai draped in the glitz of being India's financial and cinematic capital cannot keep alive a film festival of its own," the filmmaker wrote on social media. He went on to call out the "self-appointed gatekeepers of cinema" who left the festival for better stages and safer bets, further adding that only a few "passionate believers" took care of it. "And now that fragile flame has been snuffed out. No ceremony. No outrage. Just a slow, silent forgetting. What should have been a cultural cornerstone has been reduced to a footnote - another casualty of apathy dressed as progress," Mehta concluded. Many took to the comment section and echoed similar sentiments. Filmmaker Onir wrote, "Heartbreaking that the industry that produces the largest number of films ... failed to nurture this one space that celebrated cinema as a form of art ... Tired of too many ads? go ad free now beyond box office and stars ., what a loss for the city and a shame for us as an industry." Organised by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI), the film festival has emerged as a hub for the world to discover emerging South Asian talent and contemporary cinema. Several leading Bollywood celebrities like Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Khan, , and , have been associated with the festival over the years.
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
MAMI Mumbai Film Festival to skip 2025 edition, to return next year: Shivendra Singh Dungarpur
MUMBAI: The MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, an important event in cinephiles calendar in the city, will not take place in 2025 and instead return the next year with a "dynamic vision and a new team", festival director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur announced on Monday. In a post shared on social media, Dungarpur, who is known for his extensive work on film restoration and preservation, asked fans of the festival for their "understanding and support." This is to inform you that the 2025 edition of MAMI Mumbai Film Festival will not take place as we are in the process of revamping the festival with a dynamic vision and a new team to ensure that the festival returns as a premier showcase for the best of independent, regional and classic cinema from India and around the world. We are working diligently to reschedule the festival and will announce the new dates for the 2026 edition as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding and support, Dungerpur wrote on Instagram. Filmmaker Tanuja Chandra said it was sad that the festival will not be there this year. "It's a part of the year so many of us have wishes for coming back stronger," she added. The MAMI Mumbai Film Festival is organised by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI). The festival has been known for bringing the best of contemporary world cinema and talent to the city since 1997.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
MAMI Mumbai Film Festival cancelled a year after losing sponsor; Hansal Mehta says: 'Abandoned by gatekeepers of cinema'
The MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, a staple of Mumbai's cinematic calendar for close to three decades, has been cancelled for 2025. The organisers shared a statement announcing the cancellation on Monday morning, adding that a 'revamped' festival will be back in 2026. For years, the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival was the premier film festival in India's cinematic capital. MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2025 cancelled The official Twitter (X) account of the festival shared a statement from Festival Director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur on Monday morning. It read: "This is to inform you that the 2025 edition of MAMI Mumbai Film Festival will not take place as we are in the process of revamping the festival with a dynamic vision and a new team to ensure that the festival returns as a premier showcase for the best of independent, regional and classic cinema from India and around the world." The statement added that the festival will be back in 2026. "We are working diligently to reschedule the festival and will announce the new dates for the 2026 edition as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding and support," Dungarpur added. Hansal Mehta reacts The cancellation of the festival for the first time in 28 years has invited a wave of reactions from cinephiles and industry insiders. Filmmaker Hansal Mehta minced no words when he shared the announcement on X and wrote, "It's a cruel irony that Mumbai draped in the glitz of being India's financial and cinematic capital cannot keep alive a film festival of its own. Abandoned by the self-appointed gatekeepers of cinema who chased shinier stages and safer bets it was left in the hands of a few…" History of the festival The festival was started in 1997 by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI), a public trust based in the city. Over the years, actors like Aamir Khan provided financial contributions while Priyanka Chopra and Kiran Rao served as the Chairperson. In 2023, the festival was sponsored by Jio. But they opted out as title sponsor last year. Dungarpur took over as Festival Director last year after the previous director, Anupama Chopra, stepped down. The 2024 edition of the festival was much smaller than previous editions.
News18
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- News18
MAMI Mumbai Film Festival To Return In 2026 With Revamped Version
The MAMI Mumbai Film Festival will pause in 2025 and return in 2026 with a new format, logo, and vision. After a year marked by structural changes, the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival has announced that it will take a break in 2025 and return in 2026 with a fresh format, redesigned logo, and a reimagined vision. The decision was confirmed by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, who took over as Festival Director last year. Dungarpur shared that the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI), the body behind the festival, is undergoing an intensive overhaul aimed at making the event more inclusive and sustainable. 'The festival is meant to support independent cinema. There is a genuine feeling that very little is done for independent cinema. There is a thin line between documentary and independent cinema. We don't want to differentiate between that," he said in an interview with The Indian Express. Although the 2024 edition of the festival was held in a scaled-down format, hosted across venues like Regal Cinema and PVR Juhu, the absence of long-time sponsor Jio led to new financial constraints. However, Dungarpur clarified that funding was not the sole reason for the upcoming break. 'There are some past issues that need to be resolved. We are taking that time to do that. This will help us strengthen the festival. We also aim to find ways where the festival board is more effective and there is better governance of the festival itself," he added. First launched in 1997, MAMI has established itself as a major platform for world cinema with a strong focus on South Asian and independent films. The festival now aims to deepen its ties with the city of Mumbai and become more accessible to a wider audience. 'We want to make it a people's event. We are in the city of Mumbai. The festival will reflect that — whether it's the logo or the way we approach the festival," Dungarpur said. In a public statement, he further assured, 'We are working diligently to reschedule the festival and will announce the new dates for the 2026 edition as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding and support." First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
MAMI Mumbai Film Festival to skip a year and return in 2026 with a new logo, approach
The much-anticipated annual MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, which is organised by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI), will not be held in 2025 and its revamped version will return in 2026 with a new logo and approach. Speaking to The Indian Express, festival director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur assured that the revamped version of the festival will extend more support to independent cinema and create ways of engaging with the host city, Mumbai, better. The festival, which has been held in Mumbai since 1997, will skip a year as it is undergoing a process of being revamped 'with a dynamic vision', announced Dungarpur today. In his statement shared on social media, Dungarpur said that the festival will 'return as a premier showcase for the best of independent, regional and classic cinema from India and around the world'. He also said: 'We are working diligently to reschedule the festival and will announce the new dates for the 2026 edition as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding and support.' While speaking to The Indian Express Dungarpur said when he took over as the festival director last year they had 'limited funds' and 'a lot of things had to be sorted out'. In 2024, the festival was held at a smaller scale at Regal cinema hall and PVR, Juhu, after Jio, which was its title sponsor for several years, withdrew its support. A post shared by Hansal Mehta (@hansalmehta) Maintaining that 'funding' is not the main hurdle in holding the festival this year, Dungarpur said: 'There are some past issues that need to be resolved. We are taking that time to do that. This will help us strengthen the festival. We also aim to find ways where the festival board is more effective and there is a better governance of the festival itself.' Since Mumbai is the host of this much-loved festival, its upcoming editions should engage more with the city and be accessible to movie-lovers from all walks of life. 'The festival is meant to support independent cinema. There is a genuine feeling that very little is done for independent cinema. There is a thin line between documentary and independent cinema. We don't want to differentiate between that,' he said and added, 'We are going to push for independent cinema to be part of world competition.' The festival, over the years, had emerged as a hub of the best of contemporary world cinema with a focus on South Asian cinema. The festival's 2026 edition will return with a new logo. 'We are excited about coming back in 2026 with these changes. We want to make it a people's event. We are in the city of Mumbai. The festival will reflect that — whether it's the logo or the way we approach the festival. We had problems. However, we are strong and we will come back stronger.'
