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The
9th Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image (MAMI) festival, like its
earlier versions, continues to make news for the wrong reasons. Bad
organisation is one of these. After nine years, there are still
teething troubles. May be it is competing with IFFI Goa in that
respect but like at Goa there was a high percentage of good
films. The first two days itself saw at least six programme changes
at Imax with films like Sleeping Dogs, Madmen, Kebab
Connection, Lady Nitwit Chauraben, The Legend of Time
and Lemming failing to land. More followed. Naming them would
only waste space. So never go just in time for a film. Be there half
an hour early and check the latest festival bulletin. The films have
been held up at the Customs is the excuse totted by the organisers.
They never run out of excuses. This led to them providing the
programme for only two days at a time as against the earlier entire
schedule. Still, of the two days too, one had to check the current day
for any changes. It happens nowhere else. So it reminded one of the
hymn "one day at a time, sweet Jesus." On the first working
day (the festival is from March 8 to 15), that is March 9, we had a
compere reading out the synopses which most had in any case and hoping
"you are enjoying MAMI." But when the filmmakers actually
made their presence, like for example the Spanish actress Bebe from The
Education of a Fairy at Imax, there was no spotlight or
interpreter. So much for their warped sense of priorities. The press
conferences are ragged with the Imax foyer not being the best place to
hold these. Not surprisingly, they were poorly attended. As for the
Press Room, it was an apology for the same with poor facilities and
the journos had to make their own arrangements. Concentrating on
World Cinema in the top bracket is The Wind That Shakes the Barley
(Ireland and others) Life in Colour (Spain), Three Days of
Anarchy (Italy), Sarafina (South Africa), the opening
Chinese film The Curse of the Golden Flower and Tied Hands.
In the next grade is The Child (France), Several People,
Little Time (Poland). The Education of a Fairy (Spain), and
to a lesser extent Crossing Borders (Spain). But The
Collector (Poland) is overrated and Outsourced (US) quite
terrible. But they surely drew being excellent and it is this reason
that brings film buffs to "the middle of nowhere" (read
Imax, Wadala). These include over a dozen hard-core film society folk
(from Film Forum to Prabhat Film Society) being regulars at all
festivals. Earlier it was a classless festival but that seems to be
changing. Ken Loach’s The Wind That Shakes the Barley is a
deeply emotional drama set against the backdrop of the Irish struggle
for freedom. It is about two brothers who end up on opposite sides and
what a shattering climax! In the same mould as Some Mothers Sons
and Michael Collins. There are two excellent political films, Three
Days of Anarchy dealing with the end of the Fascist regime during
World War II and how they prepare to welcome the Americans as well as
choose their own leaders. The other is the Spanish film Life in
Colour, set against the backdrop of General Franco’s
dictatorship. Thirteen-year-old Fede is the focus and life in that
small Sicilian town is graphically narrated. There is a special
relationship with his grandpa and the title is a quote from him.
"You’ve had a bad day but tomorrow you’ll find everything
okay—in colour again." Sarafina is about the
anti-apartheid stir in Soweto and how the spunky schoolgirl of the
title, whose hero is Nelson Mandela, rallies round her colleagues to
project what "black power" is all about. The atrocities
perpetrated by the Whites have to be seen to be believed. Like the
British in Ireland. Old age is a subject that crops up in most of the
films and so there are quite a few funerals. Then romance is next and
the love triangle. Though The Education of a Fairy is centred
on young Raul, it is the strength of the two women, ornithologist
Ingrid and supermarket attendant Bebe (who eventually gets admission
to the Sorborne) that is as impressive, to say nothing of the female
camaraderie. Goat Horn(Bulgaria) is said to have made waves
in the film society movement of the 1970s because of the rape scene in
those pre-Cable days and time of strict censorship and Downtown
Girls (Egypt), which is put as "made in 2005" is much
older, according to the festival regulars. The standard excuse for
MAMI is the lack of funds but with sponsorship by Reliance, one
wonders why they are struggling. Good intentions and sincerity is not
enough. What is needed is competence. Not smiling bimbos and needless
verbiage. The audience is made up of hard-core film buffs and all they
want is to go on with the action. The brochure is very well brought
out which means if they want to they can get the right folks
involved. We sincerely hope that happens in the 10th instalment of
MAMI, or is that asking/hoping for too much?
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