(MENAFN- IANS) Mumbai, Jan 28 (IANS) In a bid to strengthen the Marathi film industry, the Maharashtra government has decided to organise an international standard Marathi Film Festival this year, announced Cultural Affairs Minister Ashish Shelar here on Tuesday.
This initiative stems from a realisation that while the State Marathi Film Award ceremony is being organised for the past 60 years, there has been no official government-backed film festival for the Marathi cinema. Various organisations host various international film festivals across different parts of Maharashtra. These organisations receive financial support from the government ranging from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 4 crore. And hence, recognising the need for an official festival to exclusively celebrate Marathi films this decision was taken said Shelar at the press conference.
Shelar said the inaugural edition of the film festival this year will be a three-day event hosted in Mumbai. A selection of quality Marathi films, that often do not reach wider audiences, will be showcased during this festival.
“A unique feature of the festival will be the presence of the team of that particular film accompanying their screenings to interact directly with the audiences. Additionally, as per the international standards, the event will include seminars, panel discussions and interviews with leading scholars and professionals from the industry,” he added.
The dates and detailed guidelines will be declared soon. The festival will jointly be organised by the Maharashtra Film, Theatre and Cultural Affairs department.
“The festival will provide the much-needed platform and to draw film enthusiasts from across the state, offering them an opportunity to experience the rich artistry, diversity and excellence of Marathi cinema,” emphasised the minister.
Meanwhile, for the 60th Maharashtra State Marathi Film Awards, a stellar lineup of ten exceptional films has been nominated for the final round, showcasing diversity and brilliance. The nominated films – Ananya, Pondicherry, Sunny, Dharmaveer Mukkam Post Thane, Four Blind Men, Samaira, Gaabh, Hya Goshtila Navach Nahi, Global Aadgaon and Har Har Mahadev.
The award for best child artist has been declared to Shrinivas Pokale (Chhumantar) and Arnav Deshpande (Aamhi Butterfly). Also, the awards in the technical category have been declared.
The best art direction award was declared to Mahesh Kundalkar (Unad), best cinematography to Abhijeet Chaudhary (Four Blind Men) and Omkar Barve (Hya Goshtila Navach Nahi), best editing award to Yash Surve (Kata Kirr), best sound editing to Suhas Rane (Hya Goshtila Navach Nahi), best sound mixing Lochan Pratap Kanvinde (Har Har Mahadev), best costume Ujjwala Singh (Taath Kana), best costume design Sumit Jadhav (Taath Kana).
A total of 50 entries were received for the preliminary round of the award, featuring films that were censored between January 1 and December 31, 2022. These films were meticulously reviewed by Mugdha Godbole, Vivek Lagoo, Babasaheb Saudagar, Vijay Bhope, Shrirang Aras, Raja Phadtare, Sharad Sawant, Medha Ghadge, Chaitrali Dongre, Vinod Ganatra, Prakash Jadhav, Sharvari Pillai, Zafar Sultan, Devdutta Raut, and Vidyasagar Adhyapak.
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