New Delhi: This year at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, acclaimed filmmakers Mani Ratnam and Luca Guadagnino will be presented with the "Excellence in Cinema" award. Both filmmakers will be present at the festival to accept the award and will also host master sessions for festivalgoers. It's scheduled for the October 27 Opening Night ceremony. Those who have made significant, enduring contributions to the film and cinematic arts are recognised with this award.
Luca Guadagnino's 2009 Golden Globe-nominated film ‘I Am Love’ and Mani Ratnam's 'Ponniyin Selvan: Parts 1 & 2', both historical dramas, will also be shown at the festival.
On Wednesday, the organisers of the 2023 Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival revealed that renowned directors Mani Ratnam and Luca Guadagnino will receive the Excellence in Cinema Award.
On the first day of the festival, Friday, they will be presented with an award that recognises extraordinary, long-lasting contributions to the world of film and cinema.
Mani Ratnam is one of the most acclaimed South Asian filmmakers, with a career spanning four decades. His films have, throughout the decades, dealt with a wide range of topics, from the traditional love narrative to political and human drama. Ratnam is widely regarded as one of Indian cinema's most influential figures. Films like ‘Roja,’ ‘Bombay,’ ‘Iruvar,’ ‘Dil Se…’, ‘Alaipayuthey,’ and ‘Guru’ established the director's reputation.
Films by Guadagnino, including as ‘A Bigger Splash,’ ‘Call Me By Your Name,’ ‘Suspiria,’ and ‘Challengers,’ have received widespread critical praise during the last two decades.
"It's a privilege to award these formidable artists. They have redefined and expanded our ideas of what cinema can be," said Anupama Chopra, director of the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival.
Darren Aronofsky, Sharmila Tagore, Fernando Meirelles, and Chen Kaige are just a few of the filmmakers who have won the Excellence in Cinema Award in the past.