Kangna Ranaut unveils the trophy at Jio MAMI 18th Mumbai Film Festival

Actress Kangana Ranaut unveiled the trophy at the Jio MAMI 18th Mumbai Film Festival along with the Board of Trustees -- Karan Johar, Zoya Akhtar, Rohan Sippy, Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane, Siddharth Roy Kapur, Manish Mundra, Vishal Bhardwaj and Dibakar Banerjee with Star Co-chairperson, Kiran Rao and Festival Director Anupama Chopra.

Jio MAMI with Star, festival Co-Chairperson, Kiran Rao said that it was a very exciting year for the Academy.

"Firstly, we are now a year around presence. We launched the MAMI Film Club in May with a conversation between Sir Ian McKellen and Aamir. We've followed that up with India premieres of films such as Brahman Naman and India in a Day," she said.

"The Academy is committed to bringing you great film content and conversations not just in October but through the year. We have also got a new identity. Mumbai is a mosaic of islands and communities, of over 16 million people, their hopes and dreams."

"We wanted to find an identity that reflects this great city and the festival.A If you look closely at our new logo, you will see two fish creating a geometric pattern that forms the Devnagri representation of MAMI. This identity also works well for us because we are always fishing for talent!" she added.

Filmmaker Vishal Bharadwaj said, "Our Indian Excellence in Cinema award goes to filmmaker Sai Paranjpye. Sai Paranjpye's career has spanned over four decades. Her are milestones in Indian cinema. Sai's cinema is defined by certain humanity. Her films did not have oversized heroes and villains. She told slice of life stories about common people. Her work continues to inspire generations of filmmakers."

Over 180 films from 54 countries including features, documentaries, short films will be showcased at the festival.

The Film Festival will honour director and screenwriter Sai Paranjpye and acclaimed filmmaker, Jia Zhangke with Excellence in Cinema Award.

Introducing a new programme at the festival that brings films from one, select country every year, Director Anurag Kashyap said, "This year, the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star will include a new programme, Country Focus. This year the country in focus is Turkey. The festival will screen 10 films from Turkey, which represent the different strains of cinema in the country. The selection will include films of the Turkish New Wave and directors like Zeki Demirkubuz and Nuri Bilge Ceylan. It will also have classics like The Bride from 1973."

This year, the festival acknowledges the contribution of women in the film industry and in order to strengthen its efforts to ensure that these women get the recognition they deserve, the festival introduces new awards.

The festival is set to kick off on October 20.

--IANS

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