The 17th edition of the Mumbai International Film Festival of India (MIFF) opened with a ceremony that saw the Dr V Shantaram Lifetime Achievement award being conferred on National award-winning author and documentary filmmaker Sanjit Narwekar to commemorate his body of work.
The chief guests at the opening ceremony, Union minister for commerce and industry Piyush Goyal and Union minister for fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying Dr L Murugan, along with other dignitaries, presented the award to Narwekar. The award comprises a cash prize of Rs10 lakh, a trophy and a citation.
About the honour, Narwekar said, “It is gratifying to receive the award in the name of Dr V Shantaram, a person whom I have revered throughout my life, whose films I have always studied, analysed and spoken about.”
He also thanked eminent film personalities Kiran Shantaram, Vijay B Chandra, Prem Vaidya, NVK Murthy and Girish Vaidya as well as the Films Division, all of whom have helped and supported him in his journey of documentary filmmaking and writing.
Narwekar won the National award for Best Book on Cinema in 1996 for his book on Marathi cinema titled In Retrospect. He has also directed the Films Division’s The Pioneering Spirit: Dr. V Shantaram, a documentary biopic of the legendary filmmaker, and written and directed a number of documentaries on varied subjects. He has also served on the selection committee and jury of many national and international film festivals, including the jury for the National award for Writing on Cinema.
The members of the international jury — Subbiah Nallamuthu, Anant Vijay, Meena Rad, Jean-Pierre Saire and Dan Wolman — along with the national jury members Narvekar, Subhash Sehgal, Jayshree Bhattacharya, Ashley Ratanavibhushana and Tareq Ahmed were also felicitated during the ceremony.
The Manipuri documentary Meiram: The Fireline, the French animation short Castaway and the Japanese short fiction film Shabu-Shabu Spirit opened the latest edition of the festival.
This year’s hybrid edition features 102 films that are being screened under the Competition category — 35 in international competition and 67 in national competition. The screenings are being held at the Films Division complex on Pedder Road.