The
17th Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image (MAMI) Film Festival, which
aims at giving independent films a global platform, has introduced a
Book Award for Excellence in Writing on cinema — a first-of-its-kind
initiative.
The festival logo and (below) Arpita Das
The award seeks to laud imaginative and nuanced film writing and publishing in South Asia.
Arpita Das, who has curated the award, says, “I feel there is a lack
of nuanced discussion about cinema in this part of this world. We have
witnessed some great writing in journalism, but not in books to be
precise. Besides, the intention behind the initiative is that things are
bound to change with some encouragement.”
Works of fiction, graphic novel, creative non-fiction, reportage,
analysis and screenplay written in English or translated into English
have been invited as entries to the competition. Das is responsible for
instituting the jury which will determine the winner. “The three-member
jury will be connected to the world of cinema and publishing,” she adds.
So, what qualities would the jury members look for in the entries?
“Apart from them being an excellent piece of writing on cinema, they
should have grabbed the readers’ attention and furthered discussion on
cinema,” Das states.
She explains that writing on films has not been explored to its full
potential and genres like conversations with filmmakers and cinema
biographies have a bright future. “Works which involve conversation with
filmmakers help increase our understanding of cinema and cinema
biographies, not about actors in particular,” she concludes.
The festival will be held between October 29 and November 5 this year.
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