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MIFF 2012 Interaction with Anand Patwardhan, Filmmaker, Jai Bhim oomrade- Documentary film Filmmaker Anand Patwardhan’s film on atrocities committed against Dalits throughout the country included the much talked about incidents like the Ramabai Ambedkar incident and the Khairlanji incident that garnered newsprint space right across the country(in real time). Anand’s film documents the history of these struggles and talks about the mindset that terms these events as leftist/maoist / anti-national sentiment , allowing the governments to overlook the real problem that these disadvantaged face in terms of livelihood and existence itself. During the interaction that was held on the following day, an erudite Anand Patwardhan fielded questions that labeled him as controversial and boring with quiet elan. In his defence he said, “ I make films that speak about the reality of the disadvantaged. It is possible that some people might not like to face the bald truth that my films depic...

Brokering News : It’s time for media to look within 'Brokering News'— is a film by Umesh Agarwal that examines three aspects of paid news — how politicians pay for positive coverage during elections, how coverage and movie reviews are orchestrated and paid news about business and industry. “Brokering News’ looks into the charges of paid news that sent shivers down the fourth pillar of democracy but it seldom becomes a headline as a large section of the media doesn't seem eager to look within.” “During Maharashtra Assembly elections when three rival newspapers carried the same article on on the former chief minister of the state under different bylines without caring to clarify that it was an advertorial, it was clear that something was wrong” says Umesh Agarwal. The film also questions the ownership of the media where many news channels are owned by political parties and political families. Treaties struck between media houses and corporate empires are another aspect th...

Need support for information films that make difference to our lives – Mike Pandey “A filmmaker’s role in the society is to share information, which brings about a change and that is what I constantly aspire to do through my films” said Mike Pandey addressing a press conference at the MIFF Media Centre in Mumbai, the day after he was honoured with the V Shantram Life Time Achievement award. “Documentary films are the backbone of a country and the Indian documentary film scene is now finally emerging after overcoming a stagnant period” said Pandey recounting his experiences as a veteran of informational films. Mr. Pandey said that the government has also realized the importance of documentary films and informed media that a half an hour documentary chunk has been made available on Doordarshan. He said these films need to be supported by the governments, people as well as media. Mr. Pandey informed that digital has opened a whole new vista of opportunities in film making and has b...

http://www.filmsdivision.org/miff/images/miff_eye.jpg Mumbai International Film Festival 2012: 101 best documentary and short films to be showcased during MIFF 2012 Prize Money almost doubled. Mumbai : January 25, 2012 The 12th edition of the biennial Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films (MIFF 2012) will be held at the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai from February 3 – 9, 2012. Addressing the curtain raiser press conference in Mumbai today, DG, Films Division and Festival Director Mr. Bankim said every effort has been made to make the MIFF 2012 content rich. He said the festival has been made more competitive and as a result evinced a keen interest from film makers across the world. Festival Highlights Films from around the world 101 Films including 40 international films will be screened during the week long festival. Films from USA, UK, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, Romani, Georgia, Russia, Hong Kong, My...