Vol 15 Issue 29 January 2018 For Private Circulation 1 NEWS BULLETIN MIFF 2018 opens with screening of ‘I Am Not Your Negro’ By Jyothi Venkatesh T he Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Anima- tion Films (MIFF) got off to a flying start at NCPA, Nariman Point with the Oscar nominated ‘I Am Not Your Negro’ show- cased as the opening film. The inaugural ceremony with the noted actor Ruby Bhatia as the compere witnessed a congregation of documentary and short film makers from In- dia and abroad. Veteran film maker, Goutam Ghose, who has also produced significant documentary films was the chief guest. Kiran Shantaram, Mrunal Kulkarni, Mike Pandey, Ravi Jhankal among others were among other dignitaries present. Addressing the audience in his inaugural address, Manish Desai, the Director, MIFF and Director General, Films Division said that he is immensely happy that Films Divi- sion is helping MIFF over the years in grow- ing from strength to strength and added that he is happy that MIFF has been able to make a benchmark in the annals of the history of the short, documentary and animation films all over the world. Reiterating that MIFF is after all the festival specially designed for each one of us in the auditorium, Manish Desai said that it is an encouraging situation that a record number of 790 films have been received this year from all over the world for the competition section though it was not at all possible to accommodate all the films and added that it is for the first time that the prize money of the golden conch has been doubled to 1 million rupees. In an audio visual shown during the opening ceremony of MIFF 2018, the noted filmmaker Shyam Benegal congratulated MIFF for providing a platform to all the bud- ding filmmakers to not only make films but compare their works with Masters from all over the world. Swati Pandey, Director, Films Division felicitated the energetic team of the young dancers from Odissa. Commending the efforts made by MIFF in providing a platform for the documentary film makers, Goutam Ghose said that MIFF is certainly the pride of India. He congratulated Manish Desai, Director, MIFF and Director- General, Films Division and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for organizing MIFF consistently over the years right from 1990 with great enthusiasm. Ghose recalled the days when he was a member of the jury under the stewardship of President Oshima. “When I saw President Oshima signing the Jury statement in his own mother tongue Japanese, I felt ashamed of my own colonial hangover.” Goutam Ghose signed off by saluting the spirit of MIFF by stating that he foresees an age very soon in the near future, when like pen and paper, camera will also be cheaply available and a new cinematic language will emerge. The ceremony also saw the customary introduction and the felicitation of the Inter- national and National Jury. The International Jury for MIFF 2018 comprises Canadian filmmaker Elisa Paloschi (Chairperson), French documentary maker Dominique Dubosc, filmmaker and academic from the Philippines - Baby Ruth Villarama, noted Indian filmmaker Haobam Paban Kumar and animation expert Ashish Kulkarni. The National Jury, chaired by Bengaluru based film critic and author Maithili Rao, has Turkish animator Berat Ilk, French author and film producer Pierre Assouline, National Award winning filmmakers M P Sukumaran Nair and Arun Chaddha as other members. Mike Pandey, the noted wildlife filmmaker of international repute and also the Presi- dent, Indian Documentary Film Producers Association, felicitated the members of the Indian jury. Mike Pandey said that he is encouraged to see the youth taking part this year in huge numbers at the ongoing MIFF. “The youth wants change to happen and the documen- tary is the only genre in the world to carry and relay information in the shortest time to people across the country as well as the world”. Mike also added that the documen- taries are opening many doors in our coun- try and there is a big future awaiting the youth who are involved in the documentary film movement. The opening ceremony also saw a scintillating dance performance by the ‘India’s Got Talent’ find Prince Dance Group from Odisha. The week long film festival will showcase nearly 430 documentary, short and anima- tion films from over 40 countries. The oldest and the largest film festival for non-feature films in South Asia, which began in 1990 is being organized by the Films Division, Min- istry of Information & Broadcasting, Govern- ment of India. Besides the contemporary films vying for top honors in the International and National Competition for the Golden Conch and the Silver Conch awards, MIFF will also showcase the best documentary short and animation films produced in India and abroad under special packages including Jury retrospec- tives and Best of Fests. The Animation Package includes films of Ivan Maximov of Russia, Baret Ilk of Turkey and Lea Zagury of Brazil. A special package of French Shorts and Experimental films curated by Gabriele Brennen of the 3iS Inter- national Institute for Image and Sound, Paris will be screened on 29th. The Best of the Fests package includes films sourced from top documentary film festivals like Berlinale, HotDocs, Canada, Melbourne Documen- tary Festival and Guanajuato Film Festival, Mexico. A retrospective of veteran Iranian film maker - Rakshan Benietemad, will include 3 documentaries from 3 decades. Other retrospectives will cover works of French film maker Dominic Dubosc, Madhushree Dutta and noted veteran animator Bhimsain Khurana. Besides these packages, there are also special film packages from the North East and Jammu & Kashmir. Another important feature of MIFF 2018 is students’ participation. Student films of FTII, Satyajit Ray Film & TV Institute, Whistling Woods, MGR Film & TV Institute, Prayasam, State University of Rohtak, National Insti- tute of Design will be screened during the festival. To add flavour and substance to the festival, workshops, Master Classes, lecture- demonstrations and panel discussions on topics of interest will take place during MIFF 2018. Nandan Saxena will conduct a 4 day workshop on ‘Non-fiction Cinematography’. Anand Gandhi’s team will give a glimpse of new Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Technology.The screenings will be held in the FD complex, Pedder Road, and Russian Culture Centre from January 29, 2017. “For the first time the prize money of Golden Conch has been doubled to 1 million rupees”
Transcript
Vol 15 Issue 29 January 2018 For Private Circulation1
NEWS BULLETIN
MIFF 2018 opens with screening of ‘I Am Not Your Negro’
By Jyothi Venkatesh
The Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Anima-tion Films (MIFF) got off to a flying
start at NCPA, Nariman Point with the Oscar nominated ‘I Am Not Your Negro’ show-cased as the opening film. The inaugural ceremony with the noted actor Ruby Bhatia as the compere witnessed a congregation of documentary and short film makers from In-dia and abroad. Veteran film maker, Goutam Ghose, who has also produced significant documentary films was the chief guest. Kiran Shantaram, Mrunal Kulkarni, Mike Pandey, Ravi Jhankal among others were among other dignitaries present.
Addressing the audience in his inaugural address, Manish Desai, the Director, MIFF and Director General, Films Division said that he is immensely happy that Films Divi-sion is helping MIFF over the years in grow-ing from strength to strength and added that he is happy that MIFF has been able to make a benchmark in the annals of the history of the short, documentary and animation films all over the world. Reiterating that MIFF is after all the festival specially designed for each one of us in the auditorium, Manish Desai said that it is an encouraging situation that a record number of 790 films have been received this year from all over the world for the competition section though it was not at all possible to accommodate all the films and added that it is for the first time that the prize money of the golden conch has been doubled to 1 million rupees.
In an audio visual shown during the opening ceremony of MIFF 2018, the noted filmmaker Shyam Benegal congratulated MIFF for providing a platform to all the bud-ding filmmakers to not only make films but compare their works with Masters from all
over the world. Swati Pandey, Director, Films Division felicitated the energetic team of the young dancers from Odissa.
Commending the efforts made by MIFF in providing a platform for the documentary film makers, Goutam Ghose said that MIFF is certainly the pride of India. He congratulated Manish Desai, Director, MIFF and Director-General, Films Division and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for organizing MIFF consistently over the years right from 1990 with great enthusiasm. Ghose recalled the days when he was a member of the jury under the stewardship of President Oshima. “When I saw President Oshima signing the Jury statement in his own mother tongue Japanese, I felt ashamed of my own colonial hangover.”
Goutam Ghose signed off by saluting the spirit of MIFF by stating that he foresees an age very soon in the near future, when like pen and paper, camera will also be cheaply available and a new cinematic language will emerge.
The ceremony also saw the customary introduction and the felicitation of the Inter-national and National Jury. The International Jury for MIFF 2018 comprises Canadian
filmmaker Elisa Paloschi (Chairperson), French documentary maker Dominique Dubosc, filmmaker and academic from the Philippines - Baby Ruth Villarama, noted Indian filmmaker Haobam Paban Kumar and animation expert Ashish Kulkarni.
The National Jury, chaired by Bengaluru based film critic and author Maithili Rao, has Turkish animator Berat Ilk, French author and film producer Pierre Assouline, National Award winning filmmakers M P Sukumaran Nair and Arun Chaddha as other members. Mike Pandey, the noted wildlife filmmaker of international repute and also the Presi-dent, Indian Documentary Film Producers Association, felicitated the members of the Indian jury.
Mike Pandey said that he is encouraged to see the youth taking part this year in huge numbers at the ongoing MIFF. “The youth wants change to happen and the documen-tary is the only genre in the world to carry and relay information in the shortest time to people across the country as well as the world”. Mike also added that the documen-taries are opening many doors in our coun-try and there is a big future awaiting the youth who are involved in the documentary film movement. The opening ceremony also saw a scintillating dance performance by the ‘India’s Got Talent’ find Prince Dance Group from Odisha.
The week long film festival will showcase nearly 430 documentary, short and anima-tion films from over 40 countries. The oldest and the largest film festival for non-feature films in South Asia, which began in 1990 is being organized by the Films Division, Min-istry of Information & Broadcasting, Govern-ment of India.
Besides the contemporary films vying for top honors in the International and National Competition for the Golden Conch and the
Silver Conch awards, MIFF will also showcase the best documentary short and animation films produced in India and abroad under special packages including Jury retrospec-tives and Best of Fests.
The Animation Package includes films of Ivan Maximov of Russia, Baret Ilk of Turkey and Lea Zagury of Brazil. A special package of French Shorts and Experimental films curated by Gabriele Brennen of the 3iS Inter-national Institute for Image and Sound, Paris will be screened on 29th. The Best of the Fests package includes films sourced from top documentary film festivals like Berlinale, HotDocs, Canada, Melbourne Documen-tary Festival and Guanajuato Film Festival, Mexico.
A retrospective of veteran Iranian film maker - Rakshan Benietemad, will include 3 documentaries from 3 decades. Other retrospectives will cover works of French film maker Dominic Dubosc, Madhushree Dutta and noted veteran animator Bhimsain Khurana. Besides these packages, there are also special film packages from the North East and Jammu & Kashmir.
Another important feature of MIFF 2018 is students’ participation. Student films of FTII, Satyajit Ray Film & TV Institute, Whistling Woods, MGR Film & TV Institute, Prayasam, State University of Rohtak, National Insti-tute of Design will be screened during the festival. To add flavour and substance to the festival, workshops, Master Classes, lecture-demonstrations and panel discussions on topics of interest will take place during MIFF 2018. Nandan Saxena will conduct a 4 day workshop on ‘Non-fiction Cinematography’. Anand Gandhi’s team will give a glimpse of new Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Technology.The screenings will be held in the FD complex, Pedder Road, and Russian Culture Centre from January 29, 2017.
“For the first time the prize money of Golden Conch has been doubled to 1 million rupees”
By Jyothi Venkatesh
How happy are you with the response to the MIFF 2018 this year?
I am happy with the response we have got for MIFF 2018. We had opened the online application process in the month of October- November 2017 and we got a wonderful response. There were 790 entries in all - 194 in the International Competition and 596 in the National Competition. We got entries from 32 different countries, including from small island nation like East Timor.
How was this in comparison with the entries for the International competition section of the last edition of MIFF?
Majority of entries in International Competition in the previous edition were Indian entries. As you know, Indian filmmakers can enter their films in both the categories, while foreigners can compete only in the international section. This year, two-thirds of the entries in the International Section are from abroad. We had used social media platforms in a big way to reach out to filmmakers around the world. Our MEA Missions abroad also helped us spread the word.
What about the Indian Competition?
As i said, in the Indian Competition we have had 596 entries. That is a huge number for any film festival. It was Herculean task to shortlist the entries for the competition. We decided to go in for a two-tier system in that the regional selection committees set up in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore shortlisted the films in the first instance and these short listed films were evaluated afresh by the National Selection Committee which met in Mumbai.
Is anything new on the anvil this year at the MIFF 2018?
Besides the films in the competition section, our programming team has put together a rich variety of documentary and short films from across the world. There are animation packages from Brazil, Turkey, Russia and Japan, films by the women filmmakers of the Philippines, SAARC films package in which all the SAARC nations, except Maldives are participating, retrospective of veteran animator Bhimsain’s works, retrospective of noted Iranian filmmaker Rakshan Banietemad among others. There are also film packages from the North East and Jammu & Kashmri.
What new activities have been planned in MIFF 2018.
For the first time in MIFF, there will be a stall demonstrating the emerging technology of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality. We have collaborated with filmmaker Anand Gandhi, who has made name for himself in this field. Nandan Saxena and Kavita Behl will be conducting a 4 day ‘Non-fiction Cinematography’ workshop which is open for delegates through separate registration.
The MIFF promos had a definite focus on students !
Yes, of course. Involving students was a deliberate focus. Digital technology has democratized film making and a lot
of youngsters are taking to telling their story ideas through moving images. We have tied with Sophia College, Xavier College, Whistling Wood International mass communication departments. Mount Carmel College, Bangalore and Viswa-Bharati, Santiniketan students are also volunteering in the festival. Delegate registration has been made free for media and film studies students.
Is MIFF being funded by the government of India in a big way?
MIFF is a government funded festival in that the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting sanctions over 90 percent of the budget. Government of Maharashtra also contributes for the festival. BEST, Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, Western Railway and Central Railway support the festival by giving advertisement space. Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari and IDPA support the festival by sponsoring an award each.
How would you describe MIFF this year?
I’d say that MIFF is a collaborative film festival. MIFF is the largest documentary, short films, and animation festival in this part of the world though we are yet to catch up with the big names like HotDocs, Berlin or Yamagata. We need to make efforts to be on the same pantheon as they are. And there is also a constant demand to make MIFF an annual festival, which is under active consideration of the Ministry.
MEET THE PRESSTime: 12.00 Noon to 4.00 PM Venue: New Conference Hall, 1st Floor, Film Bhavan -2, Films Division Complex at 12.00 noon meet the press Shri. Goutam Ghose
OPEN FORUMAre Filmmakers turning more towards short films than documentaries? By- IDPA Venue: Films Division Complex Time: 01.30 PM to 02.30 PM
MASTER CLASSESEarth Crisis… Do Films make a Difference? By - Mike Pandey, Filmmaker- India Time: 05.15 PM to 08.03 PM
Venue: RR III Theatre, Films Division Complex
CULTURAL PROGRAMTagore’s Rituranga By- Students of Viswa-Bharati, Shantiniketan Time: 06.00 PM Onwards Venue: Amphitheatre, Films Division Complex
BHIMSAIN KHURANA ANIMATION RETROSPECTIVE11 Classic animation films Time: 11.30 a.m. Venue: JB Hall, Films Division Complex.
Who has not heard of “Ek titli, anek titliya, ek gilhari, anek gilheriya”? An anthem for the 70s kids which is still resonated with one and all. Na, Ek-Do, Fire, Munni, Freedom is a Thin Line, Mehman, Kahani Har Zamne Ki, Business is People are some of his works which won him National and International awards.
Considered as India’s animation pioneer and avant-garde film maker, Bhimsain is one of the pioneers of parallel cinema movement in India of the 70s. Bhimsain moved to Mumbai after he secured a job at the Films Division as background-painter. It is here that he learned the art and craft of animation film-making.
Bhimsain has an unprecedented 16 National awards, several International awards and
lifetime contribution awards by leading institutes and organizations.
FRENCH SHORTS SPECIAL PACKAGETime: 2.30 p.m. Venue: RR III, FD Complex. by 3iS International Institute for Image & Sound and Les Films Velvet, Paris, Franch (13 short films with duration from 3 minutes to 28 minutes). Package will be presented by the curator Gabriele Brennen.
Films in National Competition (Audi I) & International Competition (Audi II) Time: as per the screening schedule
BOOK RELEASE“Documentary Film In India : An Anthropological History” by Giulia Battaglia followed by In Conversation with the author by Alaka Sahani, Entertainment Editor The Indian Express. Time: 2.30 p.m. Venue: Audi I, FD Complex This book maps a hundred years of documentary film practices in India. It demonstrates that in order to study the development of a film practice, it is necessary to go beyond the classic analysis of films and filmmakers and focus on the discourses created around and about the practice in question. The book navigates different historical moments of the growth of documentary filmmaking in India from the colonial period to the present day. In
the process, it touches upon questions concerning practices and discourses about colonial films, postcolonial institutions, independent films, filmmakers and film making, the influence of feminism and the articulation of concepts of performance and performativity in various films practices. It also reflects on the centrality of technological change in different historical moments and that of film festivals and film screenings across time and space.
PUSHKAR PURAN by Kamal SwaroopTime: 4.15 p.m Venue: Audi I, FD Complex 29 kilometers from Ajmer, surrounded by the Aravalli hills, in the heart of the Thar Desert is a lake city called Pushkar. To the Hindus of the world, it is second in holiness only to Mansarovar. During the full moon in the month of Kartik, the town and the nearby dunes become an enormous fairground. Thousands of villagers bring cattle, camels and horses to trade. Folk artists, musicians, Ferris wheels and merry-go-rounds appear like a mirage in the desert, only to vanish with the decapitation of Brahma’s fifth head. Kamal Swaroop delves into the myths of Brahma’s fifth head and the Ashvamedha yajna in his documentary Pushkar Puran.
02
“MIFF is a collaborative film festival” Manish Desai
Today’s Engagements
- Director General, Films Division & Director MIFF 2018
318 15th Mumbai International Film Festival
Earth Crisis... Do Films make a difference?Earth, our only home, is going thru troubled times.Multiple challenges face us ...threatening all life on the planet.Time is running out. Awareness, adaptation and management are the way forward.From policy makers, the common man to the extreme ground level... can documentaries reach out to the diverse audience and make a difference? Docu makers carry the responsibility to carry capacity building and empowering content to the people and only way to enable change in the shortest time. The need is for re inventing storytelling and adapt to changing times ...I believe only documentaries can make that possible.
M ike Pandey having grown up in the shadow of the world famous Nairobi National Park, Kenya, protecting wildlife came as naturally to Mike Pandey as breathing. His cinematic awakening began at the age of seven when he was gifted a Kodak Browning Box camera by
an uncle. Trained and educated in the U.K. and U.S., he returned to India to ‘make conservation and wildlife films capable of bringing about change.’ One of India’s foremost wildlife and environmental filmmakers, Mike has won over 300 National and International awards. Several of his films, such as ‘The Last Migration’ (1994), ‘Shores of Silence’ (2000) and ‘Broken Wings’, to name a few, have been directly instrumental in bringing about legislative changes to protect species such as whale sharks, elephants, vultures and horse-shoe crabs. r.
Lea Zagury is a Brazilian animation filmmaker and one of the Founder Festival directors of ‘Anima Mundi’ world’s second largest animation film festival and the largest in terms of audience. Anima Mundi was created in 1993; Rio De Janerio, with the aim of promoting and
popularising animation in Brazil. Since 1997, it is also held in Sao Paulo.
Moderated by Dhvani Desai, International & Indian award winning animation filmmaker.
“Brazilian animation industry - The Anima Mundi impact”
The Master Class is an insight into the phenomenal rise of this festival as well as the understanding of the approach towards co-production markets, pitching areas and crowd funding, which has brought about a strong animation industry in Brazil and the world.
MASTERCLASS
Directors who are desirous of having press conferences may contact the Media Centre at the basement of the New Museum Building.
29 January 2018 MIFF NEWS BULLETIN
EditorJyothi Venkatesh
Photos byD. S . Naik, S. S. Chavan, Nilesh Khalane,
Asst.Arun Gaikwad, Pritesh Natekar
Co-ordinatorRakesh Chandel
Printed & Published byForever News
www.forevernews.in
MIFF 2018 to screen over 430 documentary & short films
By Jyothi Venkatesh
The much awaited documentary film festival in India, the Mumbai Interna-tional Film Festival for Documentary,
Short and Animation Films or MIFF as it is known popularly, saw a grand inaugural on January 28 at The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) here. The weeklong festival will showcase nearly 430 documen-tary, short and animation films from over 40 countries.
The oldest and the largest film festival for non-feature films in South Asia, which began in 1990, is being organized by the Films Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. The Organizing Committee of MIFF is headed by the Secretary, I&B and consists of eminent film personalities, documentary makers and film critics.
Selection of films for National and International Competition was made by independent Selection Committees. In view of large number of entries for the national competition, a two-tier selection process was followed. The Chairpersons of the Re-gional Selection Committees (Mumbai I&II, Delhi, Kolkata & Bangalore) met in Mumbai and evaluated the short listed films before recommending 43 films for the National Competition.
The much awaited documentary film
festival in India, the Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Film or MIFF as it is known popularly, saw the grand inaugural on 28 January, 2018 at the National Centre for Performing Arts, Mumbai. The week long fiesta of best documentary, short fiction and animation films from across the world will conclude on 3rd February.
The response to the 15th edition of MIFF has been overwhelming, signifying a vi-brant documentary culture in India and the world. The festival directorate has received a record 790 entries, with 194 entries from 32 countries in the International competi-tion and 596 entries in the National compe-tition. Selection Committees have been set up to evaluate the entries and recommend them for National and International Com-petition Sections.
Golden Conch, Silver Conch and trophies with handsome cash awards are part of the competition in categories like Best Documentary, Best Short Fiction and Best Animation film. Besides, technical awards will be given for Best Cinematography, Edit-ing and Sound Design. Other highlights are the Pramod Pati Special Jury award, Best Student Film and Best Debut film award all of which carry trophy and cash awards. Indian Documentary Producers’ Association (IDPA) and the Government of Maharash-tra, through Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari
join hands with Films Division in institut-ing awards.
The festival directorate is constituting two Juries consisting of eminent film mak-ers from India and abroad to judge best films in both International and National competition.
Apart from films in various competition categories, best documentary short and an-imation films produced in India and abroad will be screened under special packages including Jury retrospectives and best of festivals. Special packages like Russian and Turkish animation films, French short films, NFAI Archival packages, films from South East Asia are being organized. There will be screening of films in Homage section too.
On the sidelines, cinematography and pitching workshops will be held during the festival providing a rich and wholesome experience for film makers and cineastes. A business platform for documentary film makers is being planned by FICCI during the current edition of MIFF to help film makers find funding and screening avenues in India and abroad. The proposal is in initial stages.
The coveted V Shantaram lifetime Achievement Award for promotion of documentary movement in India will be conferred upon an eminent documentary film maker chosen by an independent jury. The Award money for the Lifetime Achieve-
ment award has also been doubled from Rs 500,000 (Rs 5 lakhs) to Rs 1 million (Rs 10 lakhs). All together cash awards of Rs 5.8 million (Rs 58 lakhs) will be given away during MIFF 2018.
While feature films generally address the entertainment needs of people, docu-mentaries fill up the information needs of people. In a bid to make MIFF a people’s festival, the delegate fee has been kept at a modest Rs 300 while there will be no fee for student delegates. The screenings will be held in the theatres in Films Division complex, Peddar Road, Mumbai and nearby Russian culture Centre from January 29, 2017.
Films Division, established in 1948, has pioneered the documentary movement in India. It has documented the transforma-tion of India as an independent nation through a series of news reels and Indian News Review, which today form part of rich archival footage. Over the years, Films Divi-sion has produced over 9,000 titles, out of which nearly 2,000 titles hold lasting value. Besides undertaking documentary produc-tion in house, Films Division supports the Independent Documentary makers through its Outside Production plan scheme. Re-cently, it has also joined hands with Civil Society Organizations (NGOs) engaged in documentary and short film production by routing film production endowments.
0329 January 2018 MIFF NEWS BULLETIN
मुबंई के एनसीपीए सभागहृ में हुए एक भव्य समारोह में दक्षिण एशि्या के सबसे बडे वतृ्तशित्र, लघ ुएवं एशनमेिन फिलमों के उतसव की िरुूआत हो गई है. 1990 में िरुू हुआ मुबंई अतंराराष्टी्य फिलमोतसव दक्षिण एशि्या का सबसे परुाना और प्रशतष्ठित आ्योजन है. फिलम फिवीज़न, सिूना और प्रसारण मतं्राल्य, भारत सरकार की लघ ुफिलमों के सवंररान की कोशििों को साकार करने में शमफ़्फ़ ने हमेिा से ही महतवपणूरा भशूमका शनभाई है. 15वें मुबंई अतंराराष्टी्य फिलमोतसव तक के इस स्फ़र में शमफ़्फ़ 2018 में भारत सफहत ष्वश्व की हज़ारों िुशनंदा फिलमें आम दिराकों तक पहंुिी हैं. इस बार 40 देिों की 430 वतृ्तशित्र, लघ ुएवं एशनमेिन फिलमें फदखाई जा रही हैं। एक हफते तक िलने वाले इस समारोह में देि और दशुन्या की िुशनंदा 430 लघ ुफिलमें फदखाई जाएंगी. उद्ाटन समारोह में मखु्य अशतशि
प्रशसद्ध बांगला शनददेिक गौतम घोष, ष्वशिष्ट अशतशि फकरन वही िांताराम और मराठी फिलमों की प्रशसद्ध अशभनेत्री मणृाल कुलकणणी के अलावा फ्फ़लम फिवीज़न के िा्यरेकटर जनरल मनीष देसाई भी मौजदू िे. सभी ने ने दीप प्रजवशलत कर 15वें मुबंई अतंराराषट्ी्य फिलमोतसव की िरुूआत की. इस मौके पर फिलम फिवीजन के िा्यरेकटर जनरल और मुबंई अतंराराष्टी्य फिलमोतसव के शनदेिक मनीष देसाई ने कहा फक फिज़ीटाइजेिन के इस दौर में शमफ़्फ़ को और भी ज्यादा ्यिू-फ्ें िली बना्या ग्या है. दरअसल सोिल मीफि्या की मौजदूगी से िॉटरा और िॉक्यमूेंट्ी फिलम की तरि ्यवुाओ ंका रूझान बढा है. इस शलहाज़ से शमफ़्फ़ 2018 दोहरी क्ज़ममेदारी के साि िरुू हो रहा है. पहली फिलममेकसरा की छोटी फिलमों को एक मिं शमले क्जससे उनका काम अनदेखा न रह जा्ेय और दसूरी अहम बात वतृ्तशित्र, लघ ुएवं एशनमेिन फिलम के
मामले में ्यवुाओँ के सामने दशुन्या की सबसे बेहतरीन फिलमें हों. सटूिेंटस की सहभाशगता बढाने के शलए शमफ़्फ़ के में ओपन-िोरम और मासटर-कलॉसेस जसैी सहूशल्यत दी जा रही है. ्यानी हफतेभर िलने वाले इस समारोह
में िाशमल होकर न शसिरा दशुन्या की िशुनंदा फिलमें देखने का मौका है तो दसूरी तरि फिलमों पर बात करने, देखने-समझने के मौके भी है. इसके अलावा उनहोंने शमफ़्फ़ 2018 का मखु्य आकषराण रहने वाले वही िांताराम लाइिटाइम अिीवमेंट अवािरा की सममान राशि और कॉमपटीिन में जीतने वाली फिलम की परुूसकार राशि दोगनुी करने की घोषणा भी की. वही िांताराम लाइिटाइम अिीवमेंट अवािरा की सममान राशि अब पांि लाख की जगह 10 लाख कर दी गई है, और गोलिन कोंि के तहत परुूसकार जीतने वाली फिलम को भी 10 लाख फद्या जा रहा है. मनीष देसाई का मानना है फक शमफ़्फ़ 2018 के ्यह प्र्यास शनक्चित तौर पर िॉक्यमूेंट्ी, िॉटरा और एशनमेटेि फिलम मेकसरा को प्रोतसाफहत करने में महतवपणूरा भशूमका शनभाएंगे.वन्य-जीवन और प्यारावरण पर केक्नरित
फिलमों के शलए अतंराराष्टी्य सतर पर ष्विेष पहिान बनाने वाले माइक पांिे शमफ़्फ़ 2018 की िरुूआत के मौके पर खासे उतसाफहत फदखे. उनके मतुाष्बक िॉक्यमूेंट्ी जेनर भारत में तेज़ी से बढ रहा है और सोिल मीफि्या में गरै-तथ्यातमक जानकारर्यों के प्रशत शितंा जताते हुए उनहोंने कहा फक वतृ्तशित्र फिलम शनमाराताओ ंके शलए अपना हुनर फदखाने का ्यह सबसे सनुहरा मौका है, क्योंफक िॉक्यमूेंट्ी फिलमें ही वह माध्यम है क्जसके जररए कम सम्य में सही जानकारी ज्यादा से ज्यादा लोगों तक पहंुिाई जा सकती है. इसके अलावा उनहोंने ष्पछले कई दिकों से वतृ्तशित्र
और लघ ुफिलमें लगातार दिराकों तक पहंुिाने के शलए दरूदिरान की कोशििों की सराहना भी की. माइक पांिे शमफ़्फ़ 2018 में मासटर-कलॉसेस भी लेने जा रहे हैं जहां वे फिलम सटुिेंटस और नए फिलम शनमाराताओ ंको िॉक्यमूेंट्ी और िॉटरा फिलम शनमाराण के गरु शसखाएंगे. शमफ़्फ़ 2018 के उद्ाटन समारोह
में मखु्य अशतशि और प्रशसद्ध बांगला शनददेिक गौतम घोष ने समारोह में अपनी सहभाशगता पर गवरा महससू करते हुए कहा फक मुबंई अतंराराष्टी्य फिलमोतसव ष्पछले तीन दिकों से फिलमों के सरंषिण और सवंररान के शलए महतवपणूरा का्यरा करता रहा है. शमफ़्फ़ 2018 तक की इस ्यात्रा में हज़ारों फिलमें सहेजी गई हैं, उनहें सराहा ग्या है. वतृ्तशित्र, लघ ुएवं एशनमेिन फिलमों की बात होने पर शमफ़्फ़ ही एक मात्र भारती्य फिलम िेक्सटवल है जो बहुमलू्य फिलमों का िॉक्यमूेंटेिन त्ैयार कर रहा है. ्यह शमफ़्फ़ और इसे आ्योक्जत करने वालों की सबसे बडी उपलक््र है. साि ही गौतम घोष ्यह कहने से नहीं
िकेू फक फदनोंफदन ससती होती जा रही टेकनोलॉजी ने वतृ्तशित्र, लघ ुएवं एशनमेिन फिलम शनमाराताओ ंका काम कािी कुछ आसान कर फद्या है. अब मोबाइल िोन से िटू करके भी िॉक्यमूेंट्ी और लघ ुफिलमें बनाई जा सकती हैं. साि ही गौतम घोष फिलमों को सहेजने के प्र्यासों के शलए फिलम फिवीज़न और शमफ़्फ़ की अिक तारीि करते फदखे. वतृ्तशित्र, लघ ुएवं एशनमेिन फिलमों को प्रोतसाफहत करने मामले में उनका मानना है फक खबूसरूत फिलमें हमेिा िूलों की तरह क्खलती रही हैं और ्यह आ्योजन उनहें सहेजता रहा है.इस दौरान एनसीपीए सभागार में
मौजदू दिराकों के मनोरंजन के शलए उडीसा के प्रशसद्ध ष्पं्रस िांस-ग्पु की एक सुदंर नतृ्य प्रसतशुत भी सबका आकषराण
रही. कृषण लीलाओ ंपर आराररत इस नतृ्य नाफटका में कृषण के जीवन की कई घटनाओ ंको सुदंर नतृ्य के जररए प्रसततु फक्या ग्या. इसके अलावा ष्वषण ुके प्रमखु अवतारों को भी रोमांि नतृ्य के माध्यम से प्रसततु करने वाली ्यह प्रसतशुत दिराकों, खासतौर पर ष्वदेिी फिलममेकसरा के आकषराण का केनरि रही. मिफ़्फ़ 2018 की शरुूआत ऑसकर
नािांककत वतृतचित्र से15वें मुबंई अतंराराष्टी्य फिलमोतसव की
िरुूआत 2017 के ऑसकर परुूसकारों के शलए नामांफकत ‘आ्य एम नॉट ्योर नीग्ो’ से हुई है. 2016 में बनी ्यह रॉउल पेक के शनददेिन में बनी ्यह फिलम नसलभेद पर बनी बेहतरीन फिलमों में से एक रही है. जेमस बोलिष्वन की अररूी पांिुशलपी ‘ररमेंमबर फदस हाऊस’ पर आराररत ्यह िाक्यमूेंटरी अमेररका में नसलभेद के इशतहास की सघन पडताल करती है. 1970 के आसपास के दसतावेजों और नागररक अशरकारों के शलए सघंषरा इस िॉटरा फिलम में बखबूी ब्यान हुआ है. जेमस बोलिष्वन के लेख पत्रों और ससंमरणों के अलावा इस महतवपणूरा िॉक्यमूेंट्ी में मेिगर इवसरा, मेलकम एकस और माफटरान लिूर जशून्यर जसेै नागररक अशरकारों के शलए सघंषरारत आदंोलनकारर्यों के प्र्यास दजरा हुए हैं. िॉक्यमूेंट्ी में प्रभाविाली ढंग से अमेररकी नसलभेद का सकंट पददे पर उकेरा ग्या है. करीब 90 शमशनट की ्यह िॉक्यमूेंट्ी दशुन्याभर के प्रशतष्ठित फिलम िेक्सटवलस में जगह बना िकुी है और दजरानों अतंराराष्टी्य फिलम परुूसकार भी हाशसल फक्ेय हैं. 2016 में हुए 41वें टोरंटो इंटरनेिनल फिलम िेक्सटवल में इस फिलम ने पीपलुस चवाइस अवािरा जीता िा. टोरंटो सफहत करीब 12 अतंरराष्टी्य फिलम समारोहों में आ्य एम नॉट ्योर नीग्ो ने बेसट िॉक्यमूेंट्ी केटेशगरी सफहत पीपलुस चवाइस और जरूी अवािरा जीते हैं.
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15वें मंुबई अंतर र्ाष्ट्रीय फिलममोत्सव क् भवय शुभ्रंभ
29 January 2018 MIFF NEWS BULLETIN
मिफ़्फ़ 2018 तक के इस सफर को आप ककतनी उपलब्धियों भरा पाते हैं?
शमफ़्फ़ का ्यह 15वां मुंबई अंतराराष्टी्य फिलमोतसव िेक्सटवल है. मुझसे िा्यद शमफ़्फ़ के दो ्या तीन िेक्सटवल ही मुक््कल से छूटे होंगे. करीब 12 बार मुंबई इंटरनेिनल फिलम िेक्सटवल में सहभाशगता का सौभाग्य मुझे शमला है. मेरे शलए ्यह बहुत खुिी की बात है फक इतने लंबे सम्य तक इस गौरविाली फिलम िेक्सटवल से जुडते रहने का मौका शमला है. ्यह दक्षिण एशि्या का सबसे पुराना, सबसे बडा और बेहद महतवपूणरा फिलम िेक्सटवल है. जहां शसिरा देि ही नहीं दशुन्या की बेहतरीन वतृ्तशित्र, लघ ुऔर एशनमेिन फिलम िीिर की जाती रही हैं. हज़ारों फिलममेकसरा को पहिान
देने की कोशिि हुई है और उन िुशनंदा फिलमों को लाखों दिराकों तक पहंुिाने के प्र्यास फक्ेय जाते रहे हैं. सुखद बात है फक ्ेय सारे प्र्यत्न लगातार सिलता की ओर बढते जा रहे हैं. समस्या शसिरा ्यह है फक इतना महतवपूणरा समारोह प्रत्ेयक वषरा नहीं होने की वजह से जनसामान्य में अपेषिा के अनुकूल पररशित और प्रिशलत नहीं हो पा्या है. अगर ्यह आ्योजन प्रत्ेयक वषरा होने लगे तो संभावना है फक मुंबई अंतराराष्टी्य फिलमोतसव और ज्यादा लोगों तक पहंुि बनाने में सिल होगा. अगर ऐसा हो पा्या तो वतृ्तशित्र, लघु और एशनमेिन फिलमों के प्रोतसाहन के शलए ्यह एक महतवपूणरा कदम होगा.
मिफ़्फ़ से वहही शांताराि का नाि जुडा रहा है. उनके पुत्र होने के नाते कया आप िानते हैं कक उनके प्रयासों के कारण आज डॉकययूिेंट्ही कफलि और शॉर्ट कफलि िेककंग का रासता आसान हुआ है?
वही िांताराम के नाम पर लाइिटाइम अिीवमेंट अवािरा एक तरह से शमफ्फ़ का प्यारा्य है. वही िांताराम के प्र्यासों की वजह से भारत में वतृ्तशित्र, लघु और एशनमेिन फिलमों को महतव शमला. मुझे ्याद है तब मैं बहुत छोटा िा और फिलम फिवीज़न भी तब अपने वतरामान रूप में नहीं िा. 1952-53 के लगभग की बात है जब उनहोंने फिलम फिवीज़न को साकार करने के शलए कई प्र्यास फक्ेय. और उनके नाम पर लाइिटाइम अिीवमेंट अवािरा देने का वासतष्वक लक््य भी ्यही है फक जो फिलममेकर वतृ्तशित्र, लघु और एशनमेिन फिलमों के शलए अपना पूरा जीवन लगा देते हैं उनहें प्रोतसाहन शमले, ्यह पुरूसकार अगर ऐसे
सभी फिलम शनमाराताओं के शलए पे्ररणा बन पाता है तो ्यह उनके नाम पर फद्ेय जाने वाले इस अवािरा की सािराकता होगी. शमफ़्फ़ देि का इकलौता ऐसा अवािरा है जो शसिरा वतृ्तशित्र, लघु और एशनमेिन फिलमों के पर केक्नरित है. भारत के ्युवा फिलम शनमाराताओं के शलए ्यह सबसे सममाशनत अवािरा में से एक है. ्ुयवाओ ंकी भागीदारी बढाने के शलए लगातार प्र्यास फक्ेय जा रहे हैं. लेफकन ्यह सभी प्र्यत्न तभी सिल माने जा सकते हैं जब नए फिलमकार इस शमफ़्फ़ से जुडकर देि और दशुन्या की िुनी हुई िॉटरा फिलमें देखें, उनहें सीखने का मौका शमले और फिर वे भी इस फदिा में अपना ्योगदान दें.
वहही शांताराि की दयूरदमश्टता को आप आज के डडबजरल बयूि के संदभ्ट िें ककस तरह देखते हैं?
दरूदशिराता प्रत्ेयक महान व्यष्तितव की ष्विेषता होती है शनक्चित तौर पर वही िांताराम भी दरूदिणी रहे हैं. उनहोंने तब लघु फिलमों के शलए प्र्यास फक्ेय जब फिलम फिवीजन के अलावा शसनेमाहॉल में भी बमुक््कल लघु फिलमें फदखाई जाती िीं. उनके प्र्यासों से लघु फिलमों को दिराकों तक पहंुिने में मदद शमली. अब िॉक्यूमेंट्ी के प्रसार के शलए भी वैसे ही प्र्यास करने की जरूरत है. आमतौर पर वतृ्तशित्र फिलमों की अवशर एक बडी िुनौती रही है. क्जस तरह िॉटरा फिलमें पांि से दस शमनट की अवरी में अपनी बात कह देती हैं, वैसे ही वतृ्तशित्र फिलमें भी अगर कम अवशर में अपना संदेि दिराकों तक पहंुिाना िुरू करें तो िॉक्यूमेंट्ी का प्रिलन शनक्चित तौर पर बढ सकता है.
मिफ़्फ़ की ओर से हो रहे प्रयासों के अलावा आपको और ककस तरह के सहयोग की अपेक्ा है?
इस बारे में सरकार से मेरी प्रािराना है फक कृप्या वतृ्तशित्र, लघ ुऔर एशनमेिन फिलमों के शलए एक अगल िनैल िरुू फक्या जाए. अगर संबंशरत माननी्य मंत्री महोद्य.तक मेरी बात पहंुिे तो मैं ्यह शनवेदन करना िाहंूगा फक इस फदिा में अगर दरूदिरान लघ ुफिलमों के शलए समष्परात एक परूा िनैल िरुू करे तो ्यह इस षेित्र में काम करने वाले फिलमकारों के शलए एक बहुत राहत देने वाली बात होगी. ऐसा माध्यम शमलने पर िॉक्ूयमेंट्ी फिलमों का लाखों दिराकों तक पहंुिना आसान होगा. शनक्चित तौर पर सोिल मीफि्या की वजह से छोटी फिलमें अब लोगों तक आसानी से पहंुिने लगी हैं, इसके बावजदू फिलमें सदुरू ग्ामीण इलाकों तक नहीं पहंुि पा रही हैं. दरूदिरान इस मामले में सषिम है. दरूदिरान का एक प्रिक िनैल इस फदिा में एक महतवपणूरा उपलक््र शसद्ध हो सकता है.
मिफ़्फ़ की सफलता िें आप कया और कुछ जोडना िाहेंगे?
मुंबई अंतराराष्टी्य फिलमोतसव दो साल में एक बार होता है. ्यह प्रशतवषरा होना िाफहए. इतने महतवपूणरा आ्योजन की अशनवा्यराता में एक साल का अंतराल ही सबसे बडी बारा है. सरकार से शनवेदन है फक वे इसे प्रत्ेयक वषरा आ्योक्जत करने की फदिा में पहल करें. शमफ़्फ़ जैसा महतवपूणरा आ्योजन अगर प्रत्ेयक वषरा हो ्यह दक्षिण एशि्या ही नहीं पूरे एशि्या और ष्वश्व का सबसे प्रमुख आ्योजन बनने की ओर अग्सर हो सकता है.
मिफ़्फ़ 2018 का हहससा बनना आपके मलए कैसा रोिांि है?
शमफ़्फ़ का फहससा होना बहुत खुिी का मौका है. वतृ्तशित्र, लघु और एशनमेिन फिलमों का इससे बडा िेक्सटवल हमारे ्यहां कोई दसूरा नहीं है. 430 फिलमें ्यहां फदखाई जा रही हैं, ्यह बडी बात है. मैं सटूिेंट के तौर पर शमफ़्फ़ में आती
हंू, हर बात बहुत कुछ सीखने का मौका शमलता है.
िराठी मसनेिा की आप बहुत प्रततब्ठत अमभनेत्री हैं कफर सीखने वालही बात का कया ितलब?
ष्बलकुल सीखने शमलता है. ्यहां ष्वश्व की बेहतरीन फिलमें प्रदशिरात की जाती हैं. लघु फिलमों पर बात होती है. सीखने समझने के इतने मौके कहीं और नहीं शमलते. मैं िाहती हंू फक ्युवा और नए फिलमकार इस िेक्सटवल का फहससा बनें और
डडबजरल बयूि िें लघु कफलिों की बढ़त ेिहतव को आप कैसे देखती हैं?
सोिल मीफि्या की वजह से वाकई छोटी फिलमों के शलए संभावनाएं बढ गई हैं. लेफकन अचछा फिलमकार बनने के शलए बेहतरीन फिलमें देखना भी ज़रूरी है और उनसे सीखना भी जरूरी है. इसीशलए शमफ़्फ़ एक बेहद ज़रूरी फिलम िेक्सटवल है, जहां नए और ्ुयवा फिलमकार फिलमों के बारे में बहुत कुछ सीख सकते हैं.
Babyruth Villarama Gutierrez, the documentary-maker from the Philip-pines known for films like Sunday
Beauty Queen, Jazz in Love and Little Azkals, Baby Ruth Villarama did an MA in Film Dis-tribution and Marketing, from the Birming-ham City University (BCU), UK. Babyruth has just begun a stint as a new lecturer of the UP Film Institute, for the semester that opened just this month, January 2017.
She has undergone specialised training for esteemed overseas institution such as CICAE (International Confederation of Art Cinemas); the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam and the Pitch Con-ference at TokyoDocs, among others.
Talking about documentaries in the Phil-ippines, she says, “It’s a slow and painful process for my country, but my year-long education at BCU gave the inspiration to
carry on. What I loved about the course is that it showed the process of the film busi-ness by sharing how movies of different genres come to life. Their challenges and triumphs became a path for us to be hope-ful about our careers in the film industry. The Cannes Film Festival work placement
and the live project to mount a film screen-ing is something to remember.”
Sunday Beauty Queen won the best picture award at the Metro Manila Film Fes-tival last year. The recognition came after a long, hard period. She has been involved in film co-productions for more than 10 years. Babyruth started producing documentary contents for ABS-CBN before she started to create contents for international organisa-tions and, eventually, co-produce inde-pendent films with film-makers and other producers in the region. She’s part of a team that puts up Voyage Studios and Dokyu-Peeps – a start-up that pushes Filipino stories to reach a more global audience.
As a child, she was always looking forward to watching the day’s National Geographic Society special. Before being a successful director, Villarama took on every vital role in making a film—a photographer, a production assistant, a researcher, and even a transcriber. The Journalism alumna graduated in 2000, with a fascination for photo-journalism. She initially worked as a nightlife photographer too.
In an unexpected turn of events, Villara-
ma eventually became one of the members of the first all-Filipino documentary pro-duction team for “Asia’s Titanic,” a National Geographic feature. Years later, the director reached great heights in documentary film-making, creating a number of films, such as the 2011 short, A Letter to Ifugao. Sunday Beauty Queen was the crowning glory.
One Sunday, four years ago, Villarama and her husband, producer Chuck Gutier-rez, chanced upon a Filipino beauty pageant taking place in one of Hong Kong’s busiest streets. During their courtesy call, the Phil-ippine Consulate suggested that they create a film about the event.
“Filipino maids in Hong Kong join beauty pageants not to win some ‘cheap’ crown but to get something beyond money. It’s a real-life Cinderella story we have overlooked for many years and it’s important the world knows about them,” felt Villarama.
Babyruth signs off. “We have to put our Filipino stories as a global content for peo-ple to appreciate us. I think there is enough of the ‘poverty porn’. If we want the world to respect us, we have to create content that will make people fall in love with us.”
“Enough of the ‘poverty porn”
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Babyruth Villarama Gutierrez International Jury member:
MIFF 2018 Day one at a glance
29 January 2018 MIFF NEWS BULLETIN
By Siraj Syed
The Oscar nominated documentary on the American Civil Rights Move-ment, I Am Not Your Negro, was the
inaugural film of the Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation films, MIFF 2018, screened at the National Centre for the Performing Arts, flagging off the 15th edition of MIFF. The film is one of the most talked about documentaries in recent times and has
won top awards in Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and 8 other interna-tional festivals. The 93 minutes long film is directed by Raoul Peck, who has also been the Minister of Culture in his native country, Haiti.
Proving that fact is stranger than fiction, the film has a history quite its own. In 1979, the black American author James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent, describ-ing his next project, to be called Remember This House. The book was to be a revolu-tionary, personal account of the lives and successive assassinations of three of his close friends: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. But at the time of Baldwin’s death, in 1987, he left behind only 30 completed pages of his manuscript.
I Am Not Your Negro envisions the book James Baldwin never finished, a radical narration about race in America, using the writer’s original words, as read by actor Samuel L. Jackson. Alongside a flood of rich archival material, the film draws upon Baldwin’s notes on the lives and assassi-
nations of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr, to explore and bring a fresh and radical perspective to the cur-rent racial narrative in America.
Raoul Peck’s body of work includes feature narrative films like The Man by the Shore (Competition Cannes 1993), Lu-mumba (Director’s Fortnight, Cannes 2000, bought and aired by HBO), Sometimes in April (HBO, Berlinale 2005), Moloch Tropi-cal (Toronto 2009, Berlin 2010) and Murder in Pacot (Toronto 2014, Berlin 2015). His documentaries include Lumumba, Death of a Prophet (1990), Desounen (1994, BBC) and Fatal Assistance (Berlinale, Hot Docs 2013), which was supported by the Sundance Institute and Britdoc Foundation (UK) and broadcast on major TV channels (Canal+, ARTE, etc.)
Peck has served as jury member at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and at the Berli-nale, is presently chairman of the board of the national French film school, La Fémis, and has been the subject of numerous ret-rospectives worldwide. In 2001, the Human
Rights Watch organisation awarded him the Irene Diamond Lifetime Achievement Award. His latest work is the feature The Young Karl Marx (Le jeune Karl Marx), a European co-production, shot in Germany and Belgium, which was shown at the Mumbai Film Festival (MAMI) in Mumbai and the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa last year.
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I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO GIVES A FLYING START TO MIFF 2018
29 January 2018 MIFF NEWS BULLETIN
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