SERENA Still - H 2014
Courtesy of 2929 ProductionsHollywood titles will once again be in the spotlight at the Mumbai Film Festival. This year’s festival – which runs October 14-21 – will open with Susan Bier’s Serena, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper. The David Ayer-directed World War 2 drama Fury, starring Brad Pitt, will close the fest.
The previous pairing of Lawrence and Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook opened the 2012 festival. Other Hollywood titles that have opened the festival include Lee Daniels‘ The Butler (2013) and Pitt-starrer Moneyball (2011).
This year’s international competition jury is headed by Peter Webber (Girl With A Pearl Earring) with jury members including Mahamat Saleh Haroun from Chad (A Screaming Man), India’s Ritesh Batra (The Lunchbox) and Canadian documentary film-maker Ron Mann (In The Wake of the Flood).
As previously reported, MFF will give a lifetime achievement honor to French cinema icon Catherine Deneuve and screen a selection of her films.
The festival’s India Gold section – awarding the best Indian film – will be judged by Serbia’s Goran Paskaljevic (Midwinter Night’s Dream), Sri Lanka’s Prasanna Vithanage (Dark Night of the Soul), France’s Serge Bromberg (The Extraordinary Voyage) and Chinese actress Bai Ling (Red Corner).
Now in its 16th edition, the festival is organized by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI). This year’s event will showcase 185 films from over 65 countries. The programme includes notable titles as Jean Luc-Godard‘s Cannes winner Goodbye to Language, Richard Linklater‘s Boyhood, Mike Leigh‘s Mr. Turner, Xavier Dolan’s Mommy, Ken Loach’s Jimmy’s Hall, Kim Ki Duk’s One on One and Yoji Yamada’s The Little House, among others.
In addition to a section celebrating Arab cinema, MFF will also mark 100 years of Russia’s Mosfilm Studio.
