Luca Guadagnino, Mani Ratnam to Receive Excellence in Cinema Awards at Mumbai Film Festival

Italy’s Luca Guadagnino and India’s Mani Ratnam will receive the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival’s 2023 Excellence in Cinema awards.

Ratnam will receive the Excellence in Cinema (South Asia) award and Guadagnino the Excellence in Cinema (International) award. The awards will be presented at the festival’s opening ceremony on Oct. 27. Both filmmakers will be present and will deliver masterclasses during the festival.

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The festival will screen Guadagnino’s Oscar and BAFTA nominated “I Am Love” (2009) and both parts of Ratnam’s magnum opus “Ponniyin Selvan” (2022, 2023).

Guadagnino’s films include “A Bigger Splash” (2015), the Oscar-winning film “Call Me By Your Name” (2017), “Suspiria” (2018) and feature documentary “Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams” (2020). “Bones and All” (2022) won Guadagnino the Silver Lion for best director at Venice. He made his TV debut with the HBO drama series “We Are Who We Are” (2020). His film “Challengers,” starring Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor, is due in April 2024, and he is currently in post-production for his next feature based on William S. Burroughs’ novel “Queer.”

Highlights of Ratnam’s oeuvre include “Mouna Ragam” (1986), “Nayakan” (1987), “Roja” (1992), “Bombay” (1995), “Iruvar” (1997), “Alaipayuthey” (2000), “Kannathil Muthamittal” (2002) and “Guru” (2007). His next film will see him reunite with his “Nayakan” star Kamal Haasan.

Anupama Chopra, festival director, Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, said, “It’s a privilege to award these formidable artists. They have redefined and expanded our ideas of what cinema can be. We look forward to having them at Jio MAMI. One of the key highlights of Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival this year is going to be the masterclasses by these two veterans. India loves their work, and they are an inspiration for established as well as budding filmmakers across the world.”

The Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival will take place from Oct. 27 – Nov. 5.

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