The Mumbai Academy of Moving Images (MAMI) recently revealed plans for the upcoming year of the Festival. The Board of Trustees comprising of eminent personalities associated with the film industry like Isha Ambani, Vishal Bhardwaj, Kabir Khan, Kiran Rao, Farhan and Zoya Akhtar, Riteish Deshmukh and others, have unanimously nominated the actor, producer and author, Priyanka Chopra, as the Chairperson for the Jio MAMI 2021-22 edition.
The Festival‘s Instagram handle announced Priyanka Chopra Jonas as Chairperson with a post and the caption reads, “A new chapter begins. Thrilled to welcome #PriyankaChopraJonas #AnjaliMenonand #ShivendraSinghDungarpur to the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival Board of Trustees. We are stepping up and stepping out with hope. We are now OPEN."
Priyanka Chopra took to Instagram to announce her role as the Chairperson for the Jio MAMI Festival, and wrote, “If the goal is to create a platform to showcase Indian Cinema to the world, then I am all in!”
Captioning her post Priyanka borrowed a quote from legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese. "'Now more than ever we need to talk to each other, to listen to each other and understand how we see the world, and cinema is the best medium for doing this.' - Martin Scorsese," she wrote.
"It is with that thought I am proud to take on a new role… as Chairperson of the Jio Mami Film Festival, India’s leading film festival. Working alongside an amazing team of like-minded individuals, we’re reimagining the festival with a new creative vision that is attuned to the radical changes the world has witnessed in the last two years. I’m very excited about this new chapter for the festival as well as for me. See you at the movies… we are now OPEN! #JioMAMIMumbaiFilmFestival."
“I have always believed that Indian Cinema from across every part of the country has so much to offer to the world. It’s a mission that I had set for myself, and one that’s really close to my heart. It was a key objective when I started my production company Purple Pebble Pictures,” Priyanka said as she looks forward to 'expanding and championing' this initiative even further.
The actor and producer also talked about how she and the members of the board have spent the last few months discussing the objectives and outlining the goal they would like to achieve by “reimagining the festival to find its rightful place in the world that has changed so much.”
“The confluence of Indian and world cinema is something I’m so excited about. So to begin with, adapting to a new paradigm. Jio MAMI will have an expanded timeline this year. Instead of being a film festival that happens over one week, it is now going to pan out from October 2021 to March 2022. There’s much being planned and together with the amazing team, we aim to create something meaningful and impactful in the world of cinema. And one that we can all be so proud of. A new chapter begins, we’re stepping up and we’re stepping out with hope. We’re now open.”Priyanka Chopra, Actor
Deepika Padukone who had replaced Kiran Rao in 2019, stepped down from the position of the Jio MAMI Chairperson earlier this year. She attributed her “slate of work” for her decision.
Film critic Anupama Chopra said in a statement, "As a global icon and multi-hyphenate, Priyanka’s journey as an artist has always demonstrated a deep connection and interest in diverse film cultures."
"Along with being an actor, producer and author, she has also been a staunch supporter of a wide range of social issues. She recently galvanised the international community to garner resources to support India’s COVID-19 emergency. Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ Unique perspective, international stature, artistic ethos and leadership will be instrumental to the festival’s new vision.”Anupama Chopra, Festival Director MAMI
Heading the Board of Trustees, Nita M. Ambani is the Co-Chairperson, Anupama Chopra is the Festival Director and Smriti Kiran is the Artistic Director along with Priyanka Chopra Jonas.
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