MAMI’s 19th Mumbai Film Festival, 12-18 November: The Winners
Indian category
Golden Gateway award, Oxfam Best Film for Gender Quality award and Young Critics Choice award: Village Rockstars
Silver Gateway award: Machines
Grand Jury prize: In the Shadows
Special mention: Up, Down and Sideways, and S(exy) Durga
International category
Golden Gateway: Summer 1993, Spain
Silver Gateway: Quest, USA
Grand Jury: The Wound, South Africa-Germany-France
Special Mentions: Scary Mother, Estonia-Georgia and I Am Not a Witch, UK-France
Audience Choice award: On Body and Soul, Hungary
Dimensions Mumbai awards
Golden Gateway: Vacancy
Silver Gateway: The Wolf of Chawl Street
Special jury mention: Bambaiwale
Oxfam Special mention for gender equality: The Hungry
Writing category
Excellence in writing on cinema, English: Voices of the Talking Stars
Excellence in writing on cinema, Hindi: Lata: Sur Gatha
Half Ticket section
Golden gateway: The Day My Father Became a Bush
Silver Gateway: Cloudboy
[The above information is based on press reports. This writer was not invited to the awards, no press releases were sent by the organisers, nor does the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) carry any official listing].
Comments on the verdicts
I could not see Village Rockstars, Machines, Up, Down and Sideways.
S (exy) Durga was dramatically off-beat and technically excellent. Special mention is ok. Anything more would have been undeserving.
Summer 1993 and Quest were among the films that scored high in my ratings, and I am happy that they won.
The Wound should appeal to only sadistic viewers, based on the first 30 minutes. Did it redeem itself in the latter two-thirds? The Jury knows best.
Scary Mother is highly over-rated while I appreciate the recognition of I Am Not a Witch.
On Body and Soul had a magnetic appeal that deserved to be lauded.
The rest of the winners? Bad luck! I could not get to see them.
Last word: No film scored more than ***1/2 in my ratings, which means that MAMI’s 19th Mumbai Film Festival did not screen any films worth shouting about.
22.10.2017 | Siraj Syed's blog
Cat. : Bambaiwale Cloudboy Dimensions Mumbai Down and Sideways gender equality Golden Gateway I AM NOT A WITCH In The Shadows Lata: Sur Gatha Machines On Body and Soul Oxfam quest S(exy) Durga Silver Gateway Summer 1993 The Day My Father Became a Bush The Hungry The Wolf of Chawl Street The Wound Up Vacancy Village Rockstars Voices f the Talking Stars Fest. circuit