‘Monsoon Wedding’ Filmmaker Mira Nair To Head Jury For Mumbai Film Festival’s South Asia Competition

Liz Shackleton
·2 min read

Monsoon Wedding and A Suitable Boy filmmaker Mira Nair has been announced as the Head of Jury for the South Asia Competition at this year’s Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival (October 27-November 5).

The 14 titles selected for the festival’s new competition section, which showcases debut and second-time filmmakers from South Asia and the South Asian Diaspora Cinema, were revealed yesterday, along with the rest of the Jio MAMI line-up.

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Nair won the Venice film festival’s Golden Lion for Monsoon Wedding (2001) and her more recent credits include The Namesake (2006), The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012), Vanity Fair (2004), A Suitable Boy (2020) and Queen Of Katwe (2016).

Her next film will be AMRI, an experimental portrait of Hungarian-Indian painter Amrita Sher-Gil. She also recently directed ‘Monsoon Wedding the Musical’, which opened in New York City in May 2023 and is next headed for Broadway.

Anupama Chopra, Festival Director at Jio MAMI, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Mira Nair as the head of the jury – South Asia Competition. Mira is the OG Disruptor. She has created an indelible mark on global cinema with her outstanding work.”

Deepti DCunha, Jio MAMI Artistic Director, added: “We are honoured to have one of the most celebrated filmmakers, the Golden Lion Winner, Mira Nair, join us as the Head of Jury. The South Asia competition is an integral part of our vision to serve as a hub for South Asian and South Asian Diaspora filmmakers and to provide emerging film talent with an opportunity to meet and collaborate with some of the best minds in global cinema. Mira Nair is one of our finest; there couldn’t be a better name than her to interact with and guide these young filmmakers.”

Nair said: “If we don’t tell our own stories, no one else will – this has been my mantra for a long time, which is why I’m honoured to preside over the MAMI jury for the South Asia competition this year. I look forward to being inspired and excited by new voices in cinema from close to home. It is so important that MAMI recognizes the best first or early films because nothing can be more encouraging than one’s peers and gurus of cinema putting the wind in our sails.”

Nair added that winning the Cannes Camera d’Or for her first film, Salaam Bombay!, opened horizons for her everywhere.

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