Panaji: Goa is celebrating the 15th edition of the Goa Marathi Film Festival (GMFF) as Chief Minister Pramod Sawant inaugurated the festival.
The three-day event, being held from August 7 to 9, brings together filmmakers, actors and cinema enthusiasts for a showcase of Marathi storytelling.
The festival will be held at INOX and Maquinez Palace in Panaji and a series of Marathi films will be shown to the audience.
The event has become a platform for regional filmmakers to work on and the Marathi cinema is seen by many people in Goa and around the world.
The first film for this year’s edition is Bandakhor, directed by noted filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar. The film is about women’s dreams and the challenges of achieving them. Goan artists are involved in the project so it is very special to the host state for the film.
Another big attraction at the festival is ‘Sabar Bonda’, directed by Rohan Kanawade. It was the first Marathi movie to be premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
It won the World Cinema Dramatic Grand Jury Prize later that day and is a significant achievement for Marathi-language cinema on the global stage.
Festival audiences can also see the world premiere of ‘Pishwi’ with popular Marathi actors Swapnil Joshi and Anita Date. The premiere will be one of the key features of the festival programme.
The organizers will also honour veteran actor Mohan Joshi for his long career in the performing arts.
He will be awarded the Krutadnyata Puraskar, a lifetime achievement award for his work in Marathi theatre and cinema and Hindi movies and television.
The festival is taking place at a time when regional-language films are becoming more visible in India and abroad. Marathi cinema has continued to make some of the most interesting movies that combine local experiences with themes that appeal to audiences across linguistic and cultural boundaries.
GMFF has the potential to engage with filmmakers directly to generate exposure for regional productions.
For cinema lovers, the festival is a platform where they can experience various Marathi films in an integrated festival setting with a large audience.
Given cinema's history in Goa, it is a natural setting for an event of this nature. The state regularly hosts film and cultural events, attracting creative professionals and audiences from different parts of the country.
Film screenings, premieres and special recognition of established artists will be part of the 15th Goa Marathi Film Festival on Saturday’s programme in Panaji.
This is a fifteen-year journey of Marathi cinema that is evidence of how popular Marathi cinema has remained and that there is a growing interest in different regional stories in the world.
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