The Golden Lion Winning and Academy Award Nominated film director Mira Nair is announced as the Head of Jury for this year’s Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival’s South Asia Competition – a section dedicated to showcasing the best of South Asian and South Asian Diaspora Cinema.
Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair (‘Salaam Bombay!’, ‘The Namesake’, ‘Queen Of Katwe’, ‘Monsoon Wedding’) is welcomed to Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival this year to preside over the jury of the South Asia Competition. Anupama Chopra, Festival Director at Jio MAMI, says, “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, Artistic Director, Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, 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."
The South Asia Competition will lead the awards categories screening 14 films from debut and second-time filmmakers from different parts of South Asia and Diaspora. Jio MAMI is dedicated to hosting the world’s biggest and most prestigious South Asian Film Festival, focused on building an ecosystem for new cinematic voices, and facilitating the exchange of ideas, collaborations, and business opportunities while bringing the best of world cinema to Mumbai. The festival is devoted to highlighting the best of South Asian, South Asian Diaspora, and international cinema, with a focus on supporting and promoting independent and emerging filmmakers from South Asia.
Commenting on her new role as Head of Jury for South Asia Competition, Mira Nair said, “If we don’t tell our own stories, no one else will.”
“My mantra for a long time, which is why I am 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! Winning the Caméra d’Or for my first film, Salaam Bombay!, opened horizons everywhere. Our MAMI jury looks forward to doing the same for young filmmakers today,” she adds.
Academy-Award nominated film director Mira Nair is best known for her groundbreaking films that cross borders of all kinds: ‘Salaam Bombay!’ (Caméra D’or, Cannes 1988), the pioneering Asian-African romance ‘Mississippi Masala’ (1991), Golden Globe & Emmy-winning ‘Hysterical Blindness’ (2001), and the international hit ‘Monsoon Wedding’ (2001), for which she was the first woman to win Venice Film Festival’s prestigious Golden Lion. Also known for her literary craftsmanship of subcontinental fiction, Mira has filmed ‘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 Amrita Sher-Gil. Her most recent endeavour was directing ‘Monsoon Wedding - The Musical’, which opened in New York City in May 2023 and is bound for Broadway.
An activist by nature, Nair founded Salaam Balak Trust for Indian street children in 1988 and the Maisha Film Lab in 2004, a free school to train filmmakers in Africa. In 2012, she was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian honour.