The 22nd edition of the Mumbai Film Festival, due to be held March 12 – 22, is moving online in the face of enduring challenges first brought about by the pandemic.
Festival Artistic Director Smriti Kiran posted on Instagram that the team was “having to sit out the March edition of the festival” but that they would announce a selection of films that will screen virtually in February and March via partner platform Shift 72.
“This might not be the beginning we wanted but it marks a start. The journey in unfurling the altering and evolving experience that viewing has become during the pandemic continues,” she added.
The cancellation comes despite India’s Covid situation appearing to be relatively under control. After an Omicron-induced wave of cases in January, the curve has been on a downward trajectory for the last month. In the state of Maharashtra, which houses Mumbai, reported positive tests this week have been in the low-digit thousands.
However, there have been reports in the Indian press in the last couple of weeks that the Mumbai Film Festival was planning to cancel its physical event this year for reasons beyond Covid.
Scroll.in reported that festival organizers, the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image, had contacted filmmakers citing “logistical and financial challenges” with the upcoming event.
“We do not know when, what form and shape the festival will take in the future. We have a larger more over-arching logistical reimagining parked at our doorstep that takes into account the way the world has altered to live between waves,” the missive is understood to have read.
It has been a tough stretch for the Mumbai Film Festival, as it has for many other such events around the world. Both the 2020 and 2021 editions of the Mumbai fest did not take place due to Covid.
Back in August last year, Mumbai released a statement preaching optimism for the future. Priyanka Chopra Jonas was taking over the reins as chairman, providing an injection of star power to the team, and the plan was to run a series of year-round events before holding an in-person edition of the fest in March 2022.
News of the cancellation has been met with dismay in India. One producer speaking to Scroll.in questioned why the event needed to be shelved when the city of Mumbai itself is faring relatively well with Covid.
Deadline has contacted the festival for further comment.
Here’s Smriti Kiran Instagram post:
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