Coronavirus update: MAMI's Mumbai Film Festival postponed to 2021 amid pandemic

The MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, which is held annually in Mumbai in October, has been postponed to 2021, according to a press statement issued by the Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image (MAMI).

"It is with a heavy heart that we have decided to postpone the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2020 to next year,” Isha Ambani, who is on MAMI’s board of trustees, said in the press release.

“It is our responsibility to do everything we can to keep our communities safe during this [COVID-19] crisis. We are humbled and grateful for the special place that the festival has carved for itself in Mumbai’s cultural landscape. We promise that the festival will come back with fullness in spirit and enthusiasm for our beloved city of Mumbai.”

The Mumbai Film Festival, popularly known as simply MAMI, is India's biggest non-government film festival and is held in October every year.

The festival showcases a wide variety of international and Indian films and documentaries.

The press statement said other events such as conversations with filmmakers and premieres of independent features would continue online. The official selection of Indian films for this year's festival will be announced later this month.

A selection committee will also continue to watch Indian films that could be premiered in collaboration with MAMI next year.

"We stay committed to the independent filmmaking community and our audience," festival artistic director Smriti Kiran said. "We will continue to nurture the community, serve our audience and expand our footprint by adding more extensions to our digital arm and creating value for filmmakers who are already at a loss this year."