Cinema 2015: Top 10 Discoveries

One of the pleasures of watching movies from all over the world, from all the past decades, is to get introduced to film-makers you had never known or whose work you had never seen. Following is the list of top ten such discoveries for me, film-makers or film-phenomenons that existed long before I discovered them in 2015. I'm glad to observe that they all come from different countries. The most exciting bit for each of these entries is the "what next" section, something that can only add to your ever-increasing love for the movies. So here are the top ten, in alphabetic order:

1. Jacques Becker (France, 1906-1960): The thirteenth and the last feature film directed by this French film-maker, 'Le trou' (1960) is considered to be one of the finest prison-break movies. And it was this film that introduced me to his cinema. His other fine works are again crime-dramas and I have a feeling he must be in super form as a storyteller in those. What next: 'Casque d'Or' (1952) and 'Touchez pas au grisbi' (1954) are his next two most acclaimed films. I should start with those.
2. Marco Bellocchio (Italy, 1939-): Awarded life-time achievement award at Kerala Film Festival in 2014, Bellocchio is one of the most senior film-makers in this list who is still active. He is a regular at the best festivals around the world and I got exposed to his work through his latest surreal drama-comedy 'Blood of My Blood'. What next: His 1965 film 'Fists in the Pocket' is perhaps his most acclaimed work. So perhaps I'll watch that soon. But then he has also made several well-received films in this century, including 'My Mother's Smile' (2002) and 'Vincere' (2009).
3. Hou Hsiao-Hsien (Taiwan, 1947-): Has directed 19 films so far in 35 years and it was his latest, 'The Assassin', that introduced me to his filmography. In a 1998 worldwide critics' poll, Hou was named "one of the three directors most crucial to the future of cinema." What next: I need to start with his most acclaimed films - 'A Time to Live and a Time to Die' (1985), 'A City of Sadness' (1989), and 'The Puppetmaster' (1993).
4. Hirokazu Koreeda (Japan, 1962-): After winning the Best Director prize at Venice in 1995, Koreeda is now regarded as one of the finest contemporary Japanese film-makers. I discovered him through his beautiful human story 'Like Father, Like Son' (2013). What next: I should watch 'Maborosi' (1995), 'After Life' (1998), 'Nobody Knows' (2004) and 'Still Walking' (2008).
5. Guy Maddin (Canada, 1956-): A prolific maker of short- and experimental-films, Maddin has made 11 features as well. The unforgettable 'The Forbidden Room' (2015) introduced him to me and I'm so, so excited to watch more of his works. What next: His most acclaimed feature-length works seem to be 'My Winnipeg' (2007), 'The Saddest Music in the World' (2003) and 'Archangel' (1990). So I'll start with these.
6. Mad Max (Australia, 1979-): The only name in the list that is not a film-director but a film-franchise. I'm surprised to realise that I had no idea about the original Mad Max films until I saw the trailer of the latest and that is when I decided to watch the first three before the release of 'Fury Road'. I'm so glad I did that. I completely loved the new movie that is being named by many as the best English-language movie of the year. What next: More Mad Max movies are in pipeline but there is no confirmation about their production yet. So guess, I'll have to wait.
7. Michael Powell (UK, 1905-1990) and Emeric Pressburger (Hungary-UK, 1902-1988): This filmmaker-duo is perhaps the biggest name on this list and it is strange that it took me so many years to finally start with their filmography. I started with one of their most acclaimed films, 'The Red Shoes' (1948) that had everything in it to be called great cinema. 2016 should be the year when I explore more of their works. What next: 'Peeping Tom' (1960) is a thriller-horror film and it may be interesting to see how these film-makers approach a genre so different from their other big features like 'The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp' (1943), 'A Matter of Life and Death' (1946) and 'Black Narcissus' (1947). I have seen none of these.
8. Hong Sang-Soo (South Korea, 1961-): I was completely amazed by his latest 'Right Now, Wrong Then' (2015) as were the hundreds watching it at the Mumbai Film Festival this year. With 17 features in less than 20 years, he seems to be a very prolific film-maker. And he is known to make films on human relationships. I'll be delighted to explore more of his filmography. What next: His first film 'The Day a Pig Fell into the Well' (1996) also seems to be his most celebrated work. I must watch it soon.
9. Franklin J. Schaffner (USA, 1920-1989): Directed 14 films and several TV shows in his career, winning four Primetime Emmy Awards and one Oscar for 'Patton' (1970). This film introduced him to me, and it was followed by 'Papillon' (1973), and his masterly command over big-scale productions completely impacted me. What next: The 1968 film, 'Planet of the Apes' seems to now be the only must-watch in his filmography, but I would love to explore more.
10. Jaco Van Dormael (Belgium, 1957-): This film-maker, for me, is the biggest discovery of the year and his latest 'The Brand New Testament' my favourite film of 2015. He has directed only four feature films in 35 years of his career and I have now watched all four of them. He is one director I will keep revisiting and I know his cinema will have a huge influence on me. It has already begun. What next: Whatever he makes next will be among my most-eagerly awaited films. Hope he does it soon.

Cinema 2015: Top 10 Modern Foreign-Language Films

It is that time of the year when I look back at my journey as a film-buff, and choose the films that were the highlight of my movie-experience. Here I present the first of my 'favourites' lists, naming the top ten modern films not in English language. I have considered close to 40 films for this list, movies released in 2011 or later. 

Following are my top ten in alphabetic order. It is good to see as many as nine countries represented here. I also recommend you click on the titles and watch their trailers to witness the glorious variety of modern world cinema:

1. The Assassin (2015/ Taiwan) by Hou Hsiao-Hsien: A difficult watch. But a masterful cinematic expression. It can be a text book on a film-maker's approach to use time in order to transport the viewers into the film's world. Won Best Director at Cannes 2015.
2. The Brand New Testament (2015/ Belgium) by Jaco Van Dormael: I have already recommended this, my favourite film of the year, as a must-watch-before-you-die. Has been shortlisted among top 5 and top 9 foreign-language films at the upcoming Golden Globes and Oscars respectively. Beating 'Son of Saul' may be tough, but I'll cheer for this Belgian gem!
3. Force Majeure (2014/ Sweden) by Ruben Ostlund: One of the most compelling films of recent times centred around a married couple and the conflicts they face between them. I totally loved it. The film had won the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard category at Cannes 2014 and then made into top 5 and top 9 at Golden Globes and Oscars but lost to 'Leviathan' and 'Ida' respectively.
4. Like Father, Like Son (2013/ Japan) by Hirokazu Koreeda: The oldest film on this list is actually one of the most universally accessible. Extremely endearing and moving, this Japanese film had won two major awards at Cannes 2013. Strongly recommended to one and all!
5. My Mother (2015/ Italy) by Nanni Moretti: The inimitable Nanni Moretti's latest is again a poignant, personal story that will find resonance with the universal audience. His trademark pacing contrasts with a generous sprinkling of light humour, making it an unassuming cinematic piece, the craft of which is difficult to decipher and describe, but which creates a lasting impact.
6. A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (2014/ Sweden) by Roy Andersson: This Venice 2014 winner was also Sweden's official entry at the Oscars this year but it failed to make it to the top 9. However, it is definitely among the finest works of cinema in the recent times. The third part of Andersson's "Living"-trilogy, this comic anthology of unconnected stories can be difficult to watch alone. But try watching it with a group of cinephiles and you will have real fun!
7. Right Now, Wrong Then (2015/ South Korea) by Hong Sang-soo: This film again can be enjoyed more easily when watched with a crowd. The top prize winner at Locarno this year, and also one for Best Actor, it has a unique structure and an inventive collision of genres. A very strong authorial voice as well.
8. The Second Mother (2015/ Brazil) by Anna Muylaert: The fourth film in this list that deals with parenthood or its problems. Winner of Audience Award at Berlin and acting awards at Sundance, this beautiful, lovely drama is an easy recommendation - almost everyone will like it. It was Brazil's Oscar-entry this year and one of the strongest contenders, but could not make it to the Top 9.
9. Victoria (2015/ Germany) by Sebastian Schipper: The latest wonder in world cinema, this crime-drama is just one shot of more than 130 minutes, thus creating a new record in "long take". The cinematographer, Sturla Brandth Grovlen, rightly won a special prize at Berlin for his work on this. But the film is more than a technical accomplishment. It is something that grows on you the more you think about it and is definitely one film that will improve on multiple watches. I'll most likely recommend it as a must-watch once I watch it for the second time.
10. Wild Tales (2014/ Argentina) by Damian Szifron: The craziest, gutsiest film for me this year, 'Wild Tales' is also currently featured in IMDB Top250. An anthology of six separate stories on humans going wild in extreme life-situations, daringly written and impeccably directed and performed, this film too almost made it to my must-watch list. It was also among the top 5 at Oscars last year but lost to 'Ida'. If you want to be blown away by something outrageously shocking, this is the film for you! Watch, and then watch again.

Honorable Mention: 'Aferim!' (2015/ Romania) by Radu Jude, 'Arabian Nights' (2015/ Portugal) by Miguel Gomes, 'Goodnight Mommy' (2014/ Austria) by Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz, and 'No' (2012/ Chile) by Pablo Larrain.

P.S. Click here for the 2014 list.

P.P.S. I just noticed that not a single film out of these fourteen is from France. I am almost certain that it's an extremely rare instance! :)

Discovering the Beatles #1: Please Please Me

'Please Please Me' was the first studio album by The Beatles, released on the 22nd of March, 1963. Twenty-one years later, on the same day, I was born in a middle-class family from a small town in Bihar. It would take me another three decades to eventually kick-start my discovery of perhaps the most influential, popular and best-selling rock band of all time. I decided to start with their very first album, listen to it for a couple of months and then move on to the second album and so forth. Doing that I will perhaps have some idea of the evolution of their music and a taste of the era when they dominated the music scene. In my own way, I'll wait for the next album and then compare it with the previous ones. I'm going to document my discovery of their music on this blog. So you can expect a Beatles-post every couple of months or so. 

There were some striking observations I had as soon as I started listening to 'Please Please Me'. One, the songs are so full of love and joy that you find yourself smiling and tapping to them almost unknowingly. Their music does not try to impress you, or give you something very profound. It talks about simple things, mostly love and heartbreak. Hence, I think no one would pretend to be a fan of the Beatles. Being a true Pink Floyd fan is cool, and impressive. That's not the case with the Beatles. You don't love the Beatles, you fall in love with them. And once that happened to me, there was no turning back. I started reading about them, watching the video recordings of the songs from the album, listening to the original songs whose cover versions they did in this album and also listening to the cover versions by other artists of their originals. Another observation, that I eventually had, was the use of harmonics in their songs, something that they later used gloriously in the track 'Because'. More about that later. As of now, let me share with you my thoughts on 'Please Please Me'. You may want to click on the links highlighted below to enjoy the songs and the videos as you read.

There are 14 tracks in this album, eight of which are original songs. 'I Saw Her Standing There' is my personal favourite. There is nothing in the lyrics that I would relate with. But the tune and the rhythm just makes me so happy every time I hear it that I fell in love with it. I also like this cover version a lot, by Tiffany, that came twenty-five years later. 

This video that captures the Beatles perform 'Love Me Do' fills me with love and sadness at the same time. A 23-year old Lennon playing the harmonica evokes awe and a sense of terrible dramatic irony. The only thing that comes to my mind as I see his wonderfully chiseled face is that he will be murdered less than eighteen years later. George Harrison, only of twenty, looks like a bemused child. He will eventually fall in love with the Sitar and the Hindu philosophy and introduce his band-mates to India. Ringo and Paul would be the last two surviving members when Harrison would die of cancer at the age of 58. The joyful legacy that the four have created comes across so effortlessly in this track.

'Ask Me Why' is my third most favourite tracks of this album. Also, now I love 'Please Please Me' a lot, although it took me some time to appreciate the title track. I like 'There's a Place' for I can completely relate with its lyrics:

"There's a place where I can go, when I feel low, when I feel blue...

And it's my mind, and there's no time when I'm alone!"

'P.S. I Love You', 'Misery' and 'Do You Want to Know a Secret' are my least favourite, but I like them anyway. When I play the entire playlist of this album, I never skip a song. Even the six cover versions are worth listening to. In fact, I really really love 'Anna (Go With Him)' which was originally written by Arthur Alexander, although I must admit that the original appears to be more poignant and moving than the Beatles cover version of it. I also love 'A Taste of Honey' that always reminds me of the opening credits of a Western movie, the images of lonely cowboys on long journeys. Also very uplifting are 'Baby It's You' for its wonderful backing vocals, 'Boys' for its bass line and 'Twist and Shout' for Lennon's exhausted voice, and I prefer them over 'Chains'.

During the time when the album charts in the UK were dominated by easy listening vocals and film sound-tracks, 'Please Please Me' gained the top position in May 1963 and stayed there for thirty weeks, to be replaced by the second album by the Beatles. As many as ten of these fourteen tracks were recorded by the Beatles on a single day, 11th February 1963. The English author and historian, Mark Lewisohn, would later claim those 585 minutes to be the most productive in the history of recorded music. The 50th anniversary of that day was celebrated by modern artists re-recording those ten songs in just one day at the same venue - EMI Studios at Abbey Road, London. Watch this one-hour BBC documentary on how London celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first album by four boys who were to change the world music scene forever.

'Discovering the Beatles' is my documentation of discovering the music of the legendary band, album by album over several months. Click here and read from bottom upwards for the entire series.

Discovering the Beatles: Introduction

During the last semester at my medical college I had made an 85-minute docu-drama on my batch-mates. It was for that film that I had written the poem 'Joote Kahaan Utaare The' that later featured in Vikramaditya Motwane's 'Udaan'. That docu-drama carried snippets of interviews of my batch-mates, loosely connected through the theme of friendship. And for its closing credits, thanks to a friend's suggestion, I had used the Beatles track 'With a Little Help from My Friends'. My association with the band started and ended with that and I hadn't heard even the most popular of their songs when I visited the Beatles Cathedral in Rishikesh in April, 2014.

The Beatles' India-connection is very well-known. In Rishikesh, they had stayed at the Maharshi Mahesh Yogi ashram which now lies in ruins for almost 18 years. It is situated inside the forest land which is out-of-bounds for public. However, for the last few years, the abandoned ashram has been the site of graffiti artists who have created paintings on its walls, faces of the Beatles and their spiritual gurus, and the lyrics of their songs. And the satsang hall of the ashram is now known as the Beatles Cathedral. You can visit this surreal place by bribing the guard at the gate of the forest-land and find a fellow-traveller playing his guitar or smoking a joint or dancing in a trance inside its haunting, hallowed premises. I practically knew nothing about the band when I visited that place that April afternoon. But I knew that my discovery of the Beatles is only round the corner.

Finally, this September, I formally started my discovery of the band with some of their most popular songs but especially their first album 'Please Please Me'. Every little detail associated with the Beatles has been a revelation for me. Like, they were in their early twenties when they started the band and became overnight sensation with the unprecedented success of their first album. George Harrison, in fact, was only 20. Reading about the assassination of John Lennon when he was only forty now hurt like never before. And I don't think there has been a single week ever since I started paying attention to them that the Beatles have not featured in one or the other news article on my Google News page. Finally, I feel I'm experiencing one of the most important and loved cultural legacies of humankind. And hence I decided to document this journey - of my discovery of the Beatles.

Yesterday was the death anniversary of John Lennon. And this morning, I woke up to this news article on the first page of the Indian Express that reports the Uttarakhand government's decision to open the ashram for public. So this morning I decided to finally launch this new series on this blog. It has hardly anything to do with cinema. But then, does it really matter? I never wrote about my discovery of Pink Floyd more than seven years ago. Don't want to repeat the mistake. So stay tuned and share with me your Beatlemania...

'Discovering the Beatles' is my documentation of discovering the music of the legendary band, album by album over several months. Click here and read from bottom upwards for the entire series.

Must Watch Before You Die #46: The Brand New Testament (2015)

Dear Mr. Jaco Van Dormael,

This letter may upset you. And hence I suggest you read it completely. Because in the past forty days or so, before which I did not even know of you or your work, I have become deeply interested in guessing what might upset you, or make you sad. Because your movies do not provide me with any clue. Because you are one of those rare film-makers who make death look so wonderful and heart-break so endearing. And as I type these words, you are one of my biggest inspirations. Of course, this will not be upsetting for you in any way. What then? Please read on.

On November 1st I watched your latest film, 'The Brand New Testament' at Mumbai Film Festival and I was no more the same person. Your film did something beautiful deep within me as it should to anyone who watches it. It was the first screening of the film at our festival and I talked about it to everyone, on every platform. I started taking pride in recommending your film to one and all, praising it as the best film of the year and urging them to catch its final screening on the final day of the festival at a theatre more than thirty kilometres away on the other side of the town. In order to add more weight to my recommendation I used one line for everyone - "You will pray for me and wish well for me for one full year if you end your festival with this brilliant Belgian film!" And then, to add more credibility to those who were still contemplating if they should miss a couple of movies at our regular venue and travel all the way downtown to catch the show that would end around midnight, I announced I'm going to do the same.

So the closing day arrived. Since 2009 I have taken pride in watching, on an average, more than 30 films during the festival week and hence missing even one is not an easy decision. In order to re-watch this film of yours I had to miss two, for it also involved travelling all the way through the evening Mumbai-traffic. But then, when you are in love, it all seems fine, isn't it? So I reached the venue, only to realise that there have been indeed several people who have travelled all the way to make this film their closing film, people who eventually took my recommendation seriously, people who were all charmed by that one line of mine! 

Until now, I don't think you have found any reason to feel upset, right? After all, I had acted like your unofficial, self-appointed PR guy! OK. So what followed next was the real nasty bit. Standing at the gate of the decades-old theatre at the mouth of Colaba Causeway in South Mumbai, I received the delegates with a proud smile - as if it were my film. When they took their seats, eager to experience the film that will close their festival, their favourite annual event, I felt excited and nervous - what if they don't like it too much - as if I were the writer-director. When the title 'The Brand New Testament' appeared on the screen, I started clapping, loudly, authoritatively, and soon the entire audience followed. I felt like a puppeteer who had engineered this event, and behaved as if I had brought the film to their eager eyes. And three minutes into the film, when they started reacting to it, I felt relieved. At the start of every scene, I would laugh alone, knowing where this scene is headed, thus pretending to be the film's biggest fan. And during its wonderful 110-minute run, I spent half of the time watching the faces of the audience beside and behind me, to see the magic of cinema unfold and make them happier and richer than they already were. The film was working, and I felt proud! 

The show, needless to say, ended with a massive applause. It was a cathartic moment for me. And before they left, so many of them came to thank me and promised to pray for me for the year to come. I received their gratitude and praise for the movie as if it were my own brilliant imagination and exemplary execution, my own sweat and blood, my own piece of cinema. On the closing night of the Mumbai Film Festival Mr. Von Dormael, in my own limited world, I stole your thunder. For many among my friends and loved ones, the film has become synonymous with me, thanks to my manipulative tactics, while almost none of them remember your name! Now, you do feel upset, right?

Or, perhaps, you don't. I can say this after watching your entire filmography in the days that followed. They say you made stuff for kids and also worked in a circus before making your debut at the age of 34. 'Toto the Hero' (1991) - that wonderful, unforgettable ride about love, life and death won you Camera d'Or at Cannes, perhaps the biggest award a debutant director can hope for. In the next 24 years, you made only three more films. At the age of 58, your filmography has four feature films only! Every time you make a film in a language other than English, your country sends it to the Oscars. This includes 'The Eighth Day' (1996) and your latest. And when you made your only English-language film, it was the original and profound 'Mr. Nobody' (2009), that has gained massive cult-following over the years. In each of these films I could see traces of 'The Brand New Testament' - your entire filmography has one unique, solid voice and a timeless impact. Is their any filmmaker today whose cinema is so beautiful, hopeful, joyful and thoughtful as yours? Can any author today celebrate life without shying away from its painful side the way you so successfully do, movie after movie? This world would be a much better place if you made more movies and hence I hope your next film comes very, very soon. But perhaps we do not deserve more of you. Our cynicism cannot handle too much of the innocence your work exudes and hence perhaps you should take your time. Because whatever you do, I know, will be nothing short of brilliant. If only other film-makers put as much time and energy into their work as you do. If only we had more storytellers like you!

I started the letter with a gimmick. I will end it with another. On this celebrated platform, my blog, which has a few dozen followers and where I feel like a king, I recommend some must-watch-before-you-die movies. On an average I recommend one movie out of every fifty I watch. And I generally do not recommend a very new movie as time is the safest test of cinema's quality. But if there is one movie from recent times that every human must watch, watch it soon and then watch it again with friends and loved ones, it has to be 'The Brand New Testament'. As if the film needed validation from a self-obsessed, insignificant blogger like me!

With heartfelt gratitude (and apologies for all the drama)
A Film-buff
Mumbai, India.

MAMI 2015: Epilogue

The morning of 6th November was a sad morning. When MAMI ends, it is always depressing. Everything feels dull. And the heart longs for more of that madness. This time I was sadder than ever. However, there is a reason why the festival must end. Not only there is a limit to one's mental and physical exhaustion, there is work to do. Watching all these films during this week inspires and humbles you at the same time. And it is important that you use this feeling to create something. Perhaps for the first time in all seven editions of this festival, I started work on the very first morning. A New Year has begun for me. And despite the sadness, life goes on. It must.

My first MAMI was in 2009. The seven editions of the festival have made me watch 217 movies. For the record, here is the breakup: 2009 (34), 2010 (27), 2011 (28), 2012 (31), 2013 (33), 2014 (33), and 2015 (31). An average of 31 movies per festival. That sounds reasonably good.

So as we wait for MAMI 2016, which begins on the 20th of October, here are my recommendations from this year's festival. I have divided the recommendations into four categories. Read on to know why.

Despite watching several good movies, I could not watch some which generated very strong response from the audience. So I'm recommending these films based on what I heard: 

• Land and Shade (2015/ Colombia) by Cesar Augusto Acevedo: Camera d'Or winner at Cannes
• Room (2015/ Canada-Ireland) by Lenny Abrahamson: People's Choice Award at Toronto
• Taxi (2015/ Iran) by Jafar Panahi: Golden Bear winner at Berlin

Now, let me talk about those that I did see. Following are the movies which may be difficult to watch and those not exposed to the diversity of world cinema may not be able to endure it. But these are unique and highly rewarding experiences and I must recommend them:

• Aferim! (2015/ Romania) by Radu Jude: a dark comedy cum road movie with a difference
• Arabian Nights: Vol. 1, 2 and 3 (2015/ Portugal) by Miguel Gomes: extremely painful to watch with its runtime of 6 hours and 20 minutes but it is unlikely you will ever see anything like this
• The Assassin (2015/ Taiwan) by Hou Hsiao-Hsien: very difficult to watch but once you get what the director is trying to do, you will enjoy it
• Blood of My Blood (2015/ Italy) by Marco Bellocchio: weird, to say the least, but unforgettable
• The Forbidden Room (2015/ Canada) by Guy Maddin: one of the most bizarre, self-indulgant and unique films ever made and, if you can bear it, one of the most entertaining

Then there were movies fairly accessible to a film-festival audience, but perhaps not that easy-to-watch for the uninitiated. Here goes the recommendation:

• The Lobster (2015/ Ireland-UK-Greece-France-Netherlands) by Yorgos Lanthimos: brilliant concept and a sharp satire
• My Mother (2015/ Italy) by Nanni Moretti: effortlessly moving, this movie is an understated masterpiece
• Right Now, Wrong Then (2015/ South Korea) by Hong Sangsoo: unique structure and exceptional performances
• Sleeping Giant (2015/ Canada) by Andrew Cividino: superbly entertaining and heartbreaking coming-of-age movie
• Victoria (2015/ Germany) by Sebastian Schipper: the latest wonder in cinema
• Youth (2015/ Italy) by Paolo Sorrentino: entertaining, insightful and pleasurable at every level

And then, there were some which are definite crowd-pleasers. If you love cinema, of any kind, it is likely that you will enjoy these movies. Reacting to these with hundreds of cinephiles will remain etched in my memory forever:

• 45 Years (2015/ UK) by Andrew Haigh: a subdued but brilliant drama, more relatable than most movies
• Anomalisa (2015/ USA) by Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson: inventive and yet relatable
• The Brand New Testament (2015/ Belgium) by Jaco Van Dormael: my favourite movie this year, more joyful, wonderful, beautiful, insightful and hopeful than most movies you have ever seen.
• Microbe and Gasoline (2015/ France) by Michel Gondry: supremely endearing movie on teenage life and friendship
• The Second Mother (2015/ Brazil) by Anna Muylaert: my second favourite movie of the festival, the balance of plot, performances, and emotions is perfect. 

MAMI 2015 Day 7: The Grand Finale

What a brilliant end to this year's festival! 

Michel Gondry's latest, 'Microbe and Gasoline', was an endearing crowd-pleaser and it was the perfect film to start the final day. Watching it with an egaer and enthusiastic audience just made it better. 

It was followed by Iceland's 'Virgin Mountain', another heart-warming story about a 45-year old virgin. Poignant and beautiful, the film had won Best Narrative Feature, Screenplay and Actor at Tribeca.

I then traveled all the way to South Mumbai to catch the last two shows at Regal. The German film, 'Victoria', is unlike anything you have seen before. A 135-minute shot telling the entire story, the film's cinematography won Silver Bear at Berlin for Outstanding Artistic Contribution. The more you think of this film, the more you are impressed by it. And I was especially affected by the film's use of time, rather than its use of space which also was, obviously, incredible. Cinephiles all around the world must be celebrating this film these days.

And I ended the festival with a re-watch of 'The Brand New Testament'. Why and how that happened - has been covered in a separate post.

The final day at MAMI is always very melancholic. And when it ends, it leaves me miserable. This year's end was similar, but its intensity was unmatched. I don't know if it is ever possible to top this closing experience. I don't know if I really want this to change - that the final evening at MAMI 2015 was the most beautiful and fulfilling finale I have experienced at a film-festival.

MAMI 2015 Day 6: Playing With Genres

Five more movies today. Takes the total to 27 in 6 days. Now I really feel good about it.

Ethiopia's Oscar entry, 'Lamb', is the story of a boy trying to protect his lamb from the world around him. It took time for the film to grow on me, but by the end, like all well-made coming-of-age story involving kids, it really worked.

I followed it with the third episode of the 'Arabian Nights' trilogy. It started fairly well, continuing with the tone of Part 2, but eventually took an extremely accessible turn. The entire 380-minute docu-drama project, for me, was an academic exercise. And very tough to watch. But I knew I had to do it, because it is unlikely I'll ever watch it on my own. An unforgettable, ambitious, and unique creation.

The Venezuelan film 'From Afar' was the Golden Lion winner at Venice this year. To be honest, that expectation did not allow me to love the film. It was very well-made but it is very tough for me to imagine that there were no better film at Venice.

'Right Now, Wrong Then' on the other hand completely justified its Golden Leopard and Best Actor awards at Locarno. Unique and original, entertaining and insightful, I'll never forget this South Korean film.

And we ended the day with the B-grade, gory, exploitative horror feast - 'Tag'. This Japanese film was so bad, and purposefully so, that we loved it. The opening sequence of the film will be remembered always by those who watched it in that theater. It was such a shock that the entire theater burst into laughter and applause. It is important for me to experience blood and gore and horror to complete my festival experience.

Let us see what the last day has in store.

P.S. The sixth day of the festival was on 4th November. Physical and mental exhaustion caused the delay in writing this post.

MAMI 2015 Day 5: Love, Life and Loneliness

If yesterday was weird, this morning was one of the weirdest experiences of my life as a film audience. 'The Forbidden Room' is unlike anything you have ever seen. You either get disgusted by it and pledge never to try watching it again. Or you enjoy it like one of the craziest, and most harmless, trip! If you do not believe me, check out this 2-min trailer of the film and then imagine the same to extend for 130 minutes. I must check out more works by its Canadian maker, Guy Maddin.

My decision to watch part two of 'Arabian Nights' paid off. This episode is Portugal's official entry for the Oscars and is far more accessible than part one. It has only made me extremely sure that I will definitely catch the third and the final part on Day 6.

'My Mother' by Nanni Moretti is, for those who have seen is earlier works, a beautiful extension of his kind of cinema, that deals with loss of a loved one. The film shows how inimitable Moretti is. Without using the tricks of the cinematic medium the way other masters do, and without relying on plot movement that can be manipulative, melodramatic, and eventually deciphered, he slowly tugs on your heartstrings and takes you through a moving experience. By the end, I had tears in my eyes and a deep pain in my chest. And still, I felt hopeful about love and life.

The film was also preceded by a very endearing and apt short animation called 'About a Mother' (2015/ Russia) by Dina Velikovskaya. And it was followed by the surprise hit of the festival, the Brazilian Oscar-entry, 'The Second Mother'. It generated unanimous applause and made us so, so happy. If there is one film from the 22 I have watched in these 5 days that I can recommend to anyone on this planet, film-buff or not, it has to be this.

I was not feeling very well - eating junk every day has started to trouble me. But 'The Second Mother' inspired me to stay on for the fifth movie of the day. Revitalized and excited, I entered to watch 'Sleeping Giant' by the first-time Canadian director Andrew Cividino. And thank God I did that. Because not only it was a special film with unforgettable moments, almost on the lines of 'Fish Tank' and 'Short Term 12', but also because the interaction with the director after the movie was very inspiring.

It has been a wonderful festival, finally. And this day's contribution has been immense. Whatever the last two days have to offer is bonus! Well, that doesn't mean I'm not greedy for more!

MAMI 2015 Day 4: Enchanting Colours of Absurdity

I do not consider a film-festival experience complete until it divides the audience and their opinions on the movies we have watched. The most expected form of contrasting opinions are formed over films with strong political statement, those with excruciatingly painful plot-movement and the rare gems of graphic sex and violence. But then, there are films, who are hated by many for just making no sense, for being weird, and absurd. And the same films are loved by many for the very same reasons. My fourth day at the festival and the five movies I watched today had all shades of absurdity. I will only mention what was absurd in these and you watch these at your own risk.

'Blood of My Blood' tells two stories set in the same location but belonging to two different era as well as genre. The first story is a drama, the second a vampire-comedy. There are several actors common in both. And both are connected by the themes of evil and the devil. The film also has a very unusual use of the Metallica track 'Nothing Else Matters'. I hope you love it, the way I did. Thank God I watched this film despite several of my friends dissuading me to watch it, those who had experienced it a few days ago.

'Arabian Nights: Volume 1 - The Restless One' started with several minutes of non-fiction footage and I was shocked. Because I had come to see Miguel Gomes' retelling of the classic tale. Then we saw him, in the film, abandoning the shoot and running away, until he was caught and about to be killed when he started the story. Blending fact with fiction in the most inventive ways, he has created this trilogy, the two remaining parts of which I will catch in the next two days. It was a very demanding film, and it caused the maximum number of walk-outs.

I'm so glad I decided to go for 'The Violin Player' - my only Indian film at the festival this year. It was a 70-minute film, one unusual day in the life of a struggling violinist in Mumbai. The entire suspense and its resolution, in the form of the movie that he plays the viloin to, was so different from any Hindi film that we see. It was the most accessible of all five films I watched today and and generated unanimous applause. It was also the least absurd.

'Anomalisa' followed. The animated story of a man's one-day professional trip that turns very unusual for him. To say the least, women don't sound like women to him any more, until a girl arrives. It is also, as Wikipedia says, an adult animation film! Where do you get that?

And then, my most eagerly awaited movies of the festival, and the best movie of the day - 'The Lobster'. It is set in a dystopian future where the norm of the world is that if you are single, you have to find a partner within forty-five days or you will be turned into an animal. On the other hand, there is a rebel group in which you can live without a partner for all your life. But if you are caught flirting or sharing a romantic or a sexual moment with anyone, you will be punished beyond your imagination. And in this scenario, a love story blooms!

17 movies in 4 days is a good score! I hope I reach the count of 30 this year as well. Insha Allah!

MAMI 2015 Day 3: Inspirations and Humility

12 movies in 3 days. Now, finally, I feel good about myself. Now I think I'm doing reasonably fine!

'The Assassin' is a difficult film to watch. But it is brilliant, to say the least. Hou Hsiao-Hsien, the great Taiwanese master, won Best Director at Cannes for this film which is also Taiwan's Oscar entry this year. And although this film saw the maximum number of walk-outs that I have seen in the festival so far, I thought it was an inimitable recreation of the life and times of assassins and the rulers in the 9th century China, not just with the use of visuals and sound. But something else. The director decided to edit the film in two contrasting styles. Nothing happens for long periods of time, and then suddenly, almost inexplicably, we witness an attack. Only, it ends sooner that we could make sense of it and we are back to the 'nothingness' and the 'anticipation'. Also, we are not allowed clarity into what is happening. So we stay confused and uninformed. During that era, with obviously zero communication technology and long hours of inaction, this is how the people would have felt, right? I have seen several martial arts film from that region, but none has actually managed to transport the audience to that era the way 'The Assassin' does.

'In the Shadow of the Women' was my next film. Philippe Garrel is 67 and has a very impressive filmography. I failed to understand what motivated him to make this very unoriginal and cinematically inert film. It was very accessible, though, and a lot of people loved it. I didn't like it much.

Watching 'Mistress America' was like going back to a popular Bollywood song after days of Jazz and Sufi and Hindustani Classical. Great characters will always inspire great response from the audience. It is as simple as that. Only, creating such characters, and such scenes, and lines - is so bloody tough. In fact, the closing line of the film, a simple sentence tells us so much about the film, storytelling, and life: "Being a beacon of hope for lesser people is a lonely business!" WOW!!!!

The last film of the day was the Chilean documentary 'The Pearl Button'. Despite being a non-fiction film, it won the Best Script award at Berlin this year and hence I wanted to watch it. The good thing about documentaries is that it is unlikely they will disappoint you. And they always give you something new, to cherish forever. Like I never knew that the map of Chile cannot be accommodated on a school-wall, because of its unusual proportions. So the kids in Chile always know their country divided into three maps!

And now let me come to my pick of the best movie of the festival so far. Belgium's Oscar entry 'The Brand New Testament' is nothing short of must-watch-before-you-die and I am definitely going to recommend (#46) it as one. Do not watch its trailer. Do not go further than seeing its poster attached to this blog-post. Just watch it. I don't think you have ever seen anything like this. Something so incredibly imagined, something so full of beauty and joy and hope. The film makes some big statements, in the most endearing manner. It is like a film I wish I had made. Only, I don't know if I'll ever be able to have the capacity to do that! This is the film that I will remember from this year's festival, and the film that proves yet again why the MAMI week will always be the most eagerly awaited week of the year!

MAMI 2015 Day 2: A Guilty Saturday Morning

How do you forgive yourself when you miss the first show of the day because you were late? And can you ever forgive yourself when that movie is Jafar Panahi's 'Taxi'. I think I can never free myself from this guilt. But let me tell you what happened, in some detail. So that you can help me feel a little better.

This year at the festival, they are doing something really nice. Suppose a movie has to start at 11.15am. They ask the delegates to stand in two queues outside the theatre, one each for those who have reserved the seats two days ago and for those who have not been able to book but are there with the hope to enter if there are any cancellations. Now, about thirty minutes before the scheduled time of the movie, 10.45am in this case, they allow the first queue to enter - those with tickets. By 11am, this queues disappears into the theater. They then count how many seats are still vacant. And then, allow the first few people in the second queue to enter and occupy those seats. So, the ticket holders must reach the venue by 11am. Otherwise, the their seats will go to those who have been waiting in the second queue for more than an hour. Now, I didn't know this - that I will not be allowed to enter, come what may, if I don't reach there by 11am. Had I knew, I would not have entered that unusually-crowded restaurant for breakfast and would have done something imaginative to save myself from the unsual traffic on a Saturday morning. All that had to go wrong, went wrong. And I reached the door to the screen at 11.13am. I was politely asked to join the long queue of people without tickets. And my face fell. I had missed 'Taxi' and it is unlikely that I'll be able to watch it during this festival. Jafar Panahi is not allowed to make films. And he still keeps doing that. And we are supposed to reach on time to watch his film. And I could not.

So, in order to rid myself of this guilt, I rushed to the other theater, twenty minutes away. And I was soon the second person in the 'without ticket' queue for 'Dheepan'. I had some time and there was no one behind me and the staff was cooperative. So entered the running show, which had some empty seats, to catch about half an hour of the documentary on Ingrid Bergman. It is called 'Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words' by Stig Bjorkman and just to be able to see the beautiful goddess, Alicia from 'Notorius' and Ilsa from 'Casablanca', for a few minutes was a treat.

Four movies followed.

'Dheepan' is perhaps the weakest Palme d'Or winning film I have seen in the recent years. It's a good film, for sure. Only, it does not have, in my opinion, what 'Amour' or 'Winter Sleep' or 'Blue is the Warmest Color' or 'The Tree of Life' had. But it had something else. The story of three Sri Lankan characters who reach France and try to make a living there was interspersed with Carnatic classical music, mention of Hindu gods and Indian food, and sari-wearing women. Tamil was the primary language and the faces of the actors made me feel they were not different from Indians, for obvious reasons. Of course, there is a point in the film where the lead actress struggles to explain to her employer that Sri Lanka is not India. And I know it is not. I just felt connected.

'Ixcanul Volcano' was next. Guatemala's Oscar entry this year, the film also won the Alfred Bauer Prize at Berlin Film Festival for openning "new perspectives in cinematic art." I loved the film, especially its writing. This film is also in Competition at MAMI this year and I hope it wins some awards.

'45 Years' was such profoundly moving film, perhaps the best film of the day. But it left me disturbed, once again, and hopeless about the institution of marriage. Looking at the old couple, and actors playing them won the top acting awards at Berlin this year, I often felt how it would be to grow old with someone you love. But the way the movie progressed, and it was brilliant, it again brought my cynicism back. '45 Years' has just postponed any possibility of me getting married anytime soon.

The final film of the day was 'My Golden Days'. It was fine and the tribute to French New Wave was obvious and added to my pleasure. It was my seventh film of the festival in two days, and it is such a low score. But I hope I redeem myself in the next couple of days.

MAMI 2015 Day 1: The Same Good Ol' Feeling

MAMI has returned. And with it has returned everything that we associate with it. Euphoric cinema-loving crowds of all kinds. Yes, all kinds. The nice and patient. The rude and unreasonable. The fun and mad. The intense and motivated. Some new kids. Many old faces. Technical glitches. And the chaos they create. Frustrations and hope. Denial and acceptance. Eating bad food. Talking a lot of shit. But staying very, very alive. For a film-buff, a festival is like a great amusement park. Time is little. There is so much to experience. And the best you can do is run around with the hope to catch everything.

It is also an amazing feeling to spot the faces of MAMI-regulars during this week. Some of them I have been seeing since the first MAMI I attended in 2009. I don't even know who they are, or what they do. But watching them every year has created this unsaid bond between us. Well, not a bond may be. But certainly some kind of connection. I almost feel like approaching some of them this time and saying hello. For many, I would be one such face. Will someone come up and say hello to me?

It feels especially good when people tell me that they made their plans for the festival by going through my blog. Thanks internet. After fire, wheel, printing press and steam engine, you are what has changed the world!

Of course, there are things that don't change. Like all that I mentioned above. And like the movies you get to watch at a festival. Despite all the cancellations, technical glitches, and the chaotic atmosphere at the venues, I managed to watch three films. Am I happy with three? Of course not. At least four per day is what I want, always. But am I happy with these three? Yes. I am.

Paolo Sorrentino is only 45. And he already has such an incredible filmography. His latest, and a film in English, 'Youth' was the perfect film to start the festival. It was fun and intense. It was beautiful in every way. And it was deep. In short, it was very Sorrentino. There were certain breathtaking moments and sequences in the film that simply blew me over and reassured me that my favourite festival is back.

'Heavenly Nomadic' followed. Very endearing characters at an exotic location connected through a simple plot concerning love and loss. Being able to witness cultures and traditions of different people from across the world is one of the biggest pleasures of World Cinema. And the film definitely did that. However, we have seen so many films like these that I won't say it did anything exeptional to me. But a nice film whatsoever. Also Kyrgyzstan's Oscar entry this year.

And then, the surprise of the day came in the form of the Romanian entry at the Oscars, 'Aferim!'. The film won Best Director at Berlin and it shows why. It is a period road-movie, set in the early 19th century. And the director actually created the atmosphere of that time. The stunning locations and the black & white cinematography only helped. But the most unforgettable part of the film was its lead character and the lines he spoke to create this wonderful dark comedy. A friend said he must be the Kader Khan of Romania! My brother added, the song that best describes this guy is "Saiyyan tu kamaal ka, baatein bhi kamaal ki!" from 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo'.

Catching up with friends and finding new ones will continue. As will the feasting on movies. I only wish - there are no more technical glitches. Eventually, it will frustrate me. As of now I am just to ecstatic to have my favorite festival back!

My Top 10 Most Eagerly Awaited Movies at MAMI 2015

High Hopes

Last weekend I screened Alexander Payne's 'Sideways' (2004) for my current screenwriting batch. I had watched this beautiful film twice before, and had also studied its screenplay very recently. So I, obviously, very clearly remembered every detail, all the plot-points, all the big and small characters and at times even the dialogue. But still, watching it with the entire batch added to my own pleasure. I laughed harder and choked easily, and in our collective admiration I saw the film in a new light. Most of the students in the batch are not that well-exposed to anything beyond mainstream Hindi and American cinema and it satisfied me to see how much they enjoyed the film. 

I had a similar fulfilling experience while watching Meghna Gulzar's 'Talvar' (2015) this week. Brilliantly written and filled with terrific performances, it works, as Anupama Chopra contests, like a horror film, stunning the audience and disturbing them unlike anything they have seen before. Unlike anything, because it is very rare in India for a film to be based on true events and to be crafted so well that it does what good movies do - move the audience. And when 'Talvar' played, the audience watched. It is as simple as that. I very clearly remember that during that screening we had very few of the usual disturbances that annoy me - people talking among themselves or on phone, or texting with their phone-light shining in the dark hall. Mostly, the film did not allow its audience to do anything but pay attention to its enthralling narrative. And we did exactly that. We. The audience as a whole.

Both these experiences reminded me all over again of the refreshingly optimistic view that Christopher Nolan had expressed a little over a year ago in this article called 'Films of the Future Will Still Draw People to the Theaters'. In this article Nolan dismisses the widespread notion that movies as we have known them, motion picture projected on a white screen in a dark room full of hundreds of people, and movie-theaters are heading toward their inevitable death because as the world becomes more and more compartmentalized, thanks to technology that pretends to 'connect' people, and home-theaters give you a more fulfilling experience, going to a movie theater to sit with annoying strangers would be the last thing one would prefer. Nolan does not believe in this and defends his views with a clear phrase - "the shared experience of these narrative". I firmly believe that we will always be aware of how our movie-exeprience gets enhanced with hundreds of people reacting simultaenously to the images on screen and that will bring us back to the cinema halls. In fact, I believe, as the world gets more and more segmented, and humans lose physical touch with each other by immersing themselves to virtual reality, cinema halls will be the only place where man, essentially a social animal that loves to laugh and cry together, will reconnect with a collective emotional experience and for that reason alone, cinema will survive, in its classical form. My hopes are high. And filmmakers who know their job will ensure that it lives on.

I had a very similar feeling by the time I finished watching 'The Walk', the latest film by Robert Zemeckis. It has its flaws and the often annoying voice-over narration proves once again why screenwriting gurus hate this tool. But all the patient wait of the first hour or so was paid-off during the last forty-five minutes of the film. The film is definitely nowhere close to 'Gravity' or other 3D adventures we have watched recently. But it is perhaps as universally effective as them, because of its simplicity. There is no theories of astrophysics or esoteric images of a dystopian future in play here. The film does not play on your logical mind, it plays on your survival instinct, and it plays on a most widely-experienced fear - of heights. It is also a film that you must experience on big screen, with audience, because only then you will be able to fully enjoy the breathtaking spectacle that it is. As it ended, I smiled within. It is films like these that will make sure that the big screen stays alive. And I thanked Sony Pictures in my heart for inviting me for the special preview at this IMAX screen. It was the same screen where I had watched, roughly a year ago, Zemeckis' 'Forrest Gump' for the first time, twenty years after its release. Doesn't it seem like I was trying to make up for that by watching 'The Walk' by the same director ten days before it released worldwide?

Mumbai Film Festival 2015: A Look at the Line-Up

A few hours ago, the line-up of the films playing at this year's Mumbai Film Festival was released. I spent all the time after that to go through the list, read about these movies and the filmmakers, and to kick-start my eager wait for this year's festival that opens in the last week of October. The festival we wait for all year long is back. And it is time to take a look at the movies that will be playing this time:

OSCAR ENTRIES: With India's submission 'Court' generating a mostly positive sentiment among our film-folks, it is important to judge the level of competition for the Oscars this year. There are dozens of films that come as official entries from their respective countries. Nine of them will be playing at our festival this year: 

• Romania's 'Aferim!' that also was a joint winner of Director prize at Berlin, 
• Portugal's 'Arabian Nights: Volume 2' that will be playing with two other films of its trilogy,
• Taiwan's 'The Assassin' that won Director prize at Cannes for the legendary Hsiao-Hsien Hou,
• Chile's 'The Club' that won Grand Jury Prize at Berlin and is the latest film by Pablo Larrain (director of 'No')
• Brazil's 'The Second Mother' that won awards at Berlin and Sundance
• Belgium's 'The Brand New Testament' 
• Ethiopia's 'Lamb'
• Kyrgyztan's 'Heavenly Nomadic'
• Guatemala's 'Ixcanul Volcano' that won the Alfred Bauer Prize at Berlin for opening "new perspectives on cinematic art".

The last two movies are first films of their respective directors and hence also in Official Competition at Mumbai Film Festival. It should be noted that Jordan's entry this year, 'Theeb', played at last year's festival, as did 'Court'.

WINNERS AT RECENT FESTIVALS: The top prize winners of this year's Cannes, Venice, Berlin and Locarno are all playing at our festival this year. I don't remember when did this happen last. This by itself is something that should make our curators proud. Following are the top winners at recent international festivals that feature in the list:

• 'Dheepan' that won Palme d'Or at Cannes this year is the latest film by Jacques Audiard ('A Prophet' and 'Rust and Bone')
• 'From Afar' is this year's Golden Lion winner at Venice
• 'Taxi' that won Golden Bear at Berlin this year is the latest by Jafar Panahi
• 'Right Now, Wrong Then' is the Golden Leopard winner at Locarno this year
• 'The Pearl Button' is the winner of Best Script at Berlin
• 'Body (Cialo)' is the joint-winner of Director prize at Berlin with aforementioned 'Aferim!'
• 'Chronic' won the Screenplay award at Cannes
• 'Land and Shade' won Camera d'Or at Cannes and is also in competition
• '45 Years' won Best Actor and Best Actress awards at Berlin
• 'Blood of My Blood' won FIPRESCI Prize at Venice
• 'Virgin Mountain' won Best Narrative Feature, Screenplay, and Actor at Tribeca

THE LATEST FILMS BY BIG NAMES: Apart from the films of Hsiao-Hsein Hou, Pablo Larrain, Jacques Audiard, and Jafar Panahi, the festival will also screen the latest works of Paolo Sorrentino ('Youth'), Atom Egoyan ('Remember'), Nanni Moretti ('My Mother'), Jia Zhang-ke ('Mountains May Depart'), Yorgos Lanthimos ('The Lobster'), Arnaud Desplechin ('My Golden Days'), Michel Gondry ('Microbe and Gasoline'), Philippe Garrel ('In the Shadow of Women'), Christopher Doyle ('Hong Kong Trilogy'), Terence Davies ('Sunset Song'), Noah Baumbach ('Mistress America'), Paul Thomas Anderson ('Junun' - a documentary), Charlie Kaufman ('Anomalisa') and Aleksandr Sokurov ('Francofonia').

CLASSICS: Satyajit's Ray's 'The Apu Trilogy', Ritwik Ghatak's 'Komal Gandhar', Guru Dutt's 'Pyasaa', MS Sathyu's 'Garam Hava' and Eiichi Yamamoto's 1973 Japanese Animation 'Belladonna of Sadness' will be screened under the section 'Restored Classics'. Then there are 'Special Screenings' of Jacques Becker's 'Montparnasse 19' (1958) and Claude Lelouch's double Oscar-winner 'A Man and a Woman' (1966). We will also look forward to Agnes Varda ('Cleo from 5 to 7', 'Vagabond' and 'The Gleaners and I') and Chetan Anand retrospectives ('Neecha Nagar', 'Haqeeqat', and 'Heer Ranjha').

DOCUMENTARIES ON CINEMA: Documentaries on the lives and careers of Sidney Lumet ('By Sidney Lumet'), Ingrid Bergman ('Ingrid Bergman in Her Own Words'), and Jia Zhang-ke ('Jia Zhang-ke: A Guy from Fenyang') will be played. The last film is directed by the Brazilian great Walter Salles who made 'Central Station' (1998) and 'The Motorcycle Diaries' (2004).

AND MORE... 'Thithi' the debut film by my friend Raam Reddy, which won two awards at Locarno this year, will also play in competition. And then there is a film called 'The Sky Trembles and the Earth is Afraid and the Two Eyes Are Not Brothers'. Isn't the title good enough a reason to not miss this one! I also expect some more films will be announced in the days leading to the festival. I will update this post as and when it happens. Until then, let us rejoice - MAMI is back and how!