JIO MAMI Mumbai Film Festival’s Excellence in Cinema Award will be bestowed on celebrated filmmakers Mani Ratnam and Luca Guadagnino during the festival’s opening ceremony, which will be held on October 27 at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai.
The Excellence in Cinema Award honours those who have made outstanding and lasting contributions to the world of film. Its previous recipients include Darren Aronofsky, Shyam Benegal, Chen Kaige, Sharmila Tagore, Jia Zhangke and Salim-Javed.
Festival director Anupama Chopra said, “It's a privilege to award these formidable artists. They have redefined and expanded our ideas of what cinema can be. We look forward to having them at Jio MAMI.”
Mani Ratnam is revered for his diverse and innovative filmography, which includes critically acclaimed and commercially successful titles like Mouna Ragam (1986), Nayakan (1987), Roja (1992), Bombay (1995), Iruvar (1997) and Alaipayuthey (2000). Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino’s credits feature such emotionally complex and visually stunning films as I Am Love (2009), A Bigger Splash (2015), the Academy Award-winning Call Me By Your Name (2017), Suspiria (2018) and Bones and All (2022), with his newest project Challengers — starring Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor — slated for release in April 2024.
The two veteran directors will also be conducting Masterclasses at the festival, which will screen Ratnam’s historical drama duology, Ponniyin Selvan: Part One and Two, as well as Guadagnino's lush romance I Am Love (2009).
The Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival will take place in various theatres across Mumbai between Friday, October 27 and Sunday, November 5, 2023.