A force to be reckoned with in the entertainment industry, actor and producer Priyanka Chopra Jonas, star of Baywatch and The White Tiger, has officially been given the title of chairperson of the New-Look Mumbai Film Festival (Jio MAMI). This year, the film festival will take on a new process of not including a competitive international section, unlike film festivals past.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival’s usual October schedule will be replaced with a six-month period of various events. From October 2021 to March 2022, conversations with Indian entertainment icons will hold center stage, the festival is also giving films that were not able to be showcased last year due to the pandemic a chance to have screen time.
“Each section and vertical has been assessed with the lens of what creates value in the current scenario and what doesn’t,” a statement from the Mumbai Film Festival said. “This includes creating more awards and grants for Indian films and filmmakers and letting go of the international competition section.”
Chopra said of the festival that reimagination of the festival was at the center of her goals a new chairperson, and comments on how the pandemic has changed the way we all consume various forms of media, especially film.
“I’ve hit the road running… with ideas, thoughts and plans on reimagining the festival to find its rightful place in a world that has changed so much in such a short time,” Chopra said. “We’re all consuming film and entertainment very differently now and in the process, we’ve expanded the footprint of the cinema that we watch.”
Alongside screening films, the festival will also be offering masterclasses featuring talent from all over the world. As of right now, the exact schedule of events is tentative depending on the COVID-19 situation in India, but the artistic director of the festival, Smriti Kiran, feels that the “new course for Jio MAMI strengthens what we collectively feel should be our focus.”
