L Murugan inaugurates MIFF, filmmaker Subbiah Nallamuthu receives lifetime achievement award

Mumbai: Documentary films play a vital role in showcasing human emotions in a true way, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan said at the inauguration ceremony of the 18th edition of the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF).

Organised biennially by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and executed by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), the festival celebrates documentaries, short fiction and animation films. MIFF was launched in 1990.

Murugan, who declared the gala open on Saturday night, said the ministry is focused on transforming the country into "a content hub of the world".

"The Mumbai International Film Festival is a celebration of documentary, short and animation films. Documentary films play a vital role to showcase the unique abilities, emotions and human bonds in a true way.

"Our Bharat is the hub of content creation. In our Bharat, storytelling is our tradition from our grandmothers and mothers, in the story we are picking content for cinema, novels," he said.

The minister also highlighted the efforts made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to facilitate the single-window system for film shooting in India.

“Our ministry is also giving a platform under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, giving facility to the Film Facilitation Office (FFO) to offer a single-window system, wherein film producer can get various department and state approval from a single platform, so that film producers can get easy access and permissions to shoot in India.

“Film producer’s worry is piracy. There are some producers who are selling property and putting it into making cinema. Recently, our government brought an amendment in the cinematograph act to prevent piracy,” he added.

At the opening ceremony, renowned wildlife filmmaker Subbiah Nallamuthu was named the recipient of the V Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award, instituted in the memory of the legendary filmmaker.

Nallamuthu, best known for his tiger-centric documentaries including “Tiger Dynasty”, “Tiger Queen”, and “The World’s Most Famous Tiger”, received a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh, a trophy and a citation.

An alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), the filmmaker gained prominence with his work on "Living on the Edge", India’s longest-running award-winning environment series. His expertise extends to his tenure with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as a high-speed cameraman.

Nallamuthu expressed gratitude to the government and the jury for the honour. “It has been a long journey. I dedicate the award to my parents and family who supported me,” he said.

Film personalities like Aanand L Rai, Madhur Bhandarkar, Divya Dutta, Randeep Hooda, Abhishek Banerjee, Sonali Kulkarni, Sharad Kelkar, Taha Shah Badussha, Rahul Rawail, Vineet Singh, Avinash Tiwary, and Adil Hussain also attended the MIFF opening ceremony.

FTII student Chidananda S Naik's short film "Sunflowers Were The First Ones To Know", which won the first prize in the La Cinef section at the 77th Cannes Film Festival last month, was also screened at the event.

The ceremony featured a cultural performance by a group of dancers from Sri Lanka, which was followed by a captivating presentation by a Mumbai-based dance crew Krazzy Kings showcasing the history of Indian animation through popular characters like Chhota Bheem and Honey Bunny.

MIFF, a seven-day long festival, will be held at the Films Division-National Film Development Corporation complex in Mumbai, with parallel events in Chennai, Kolkata, Pune and New Delhi.

A total of 314 films will be screened during this edition of MIFF from 59 countries across 61 languages. It includes eight world premieres, five international premieres, 18 Asia premieres and 21 India premieres.

There will be masterclasses and panel discussions with filmmakers such as Santosh Sivan, Audrius Stonys, Ketan Mehta, Richie Mehta, T S Nagabharana, and Georges Schwizgebel.