MAMI film fest to award excellence in digital content

Mumbai: The 2017 edition of the JIO MAMI Mumbai Film Festival will have a new award category -- the Jio MAMI Award For Excellence in Digital Content, the Reliance Foundation announced on Monday.

Nita Ambani, Founder and Chairperson, Reliance Foundation and the co-chair of the movie fiesta, said in a statement: "We hope that this award will encourage young talent to break the boundaries of their creative prowess and take Indian cinema to new and greater heights, especially in the digital space. With the award, we're giving our young talent tangible encouragement and support to showcase their showcase their talent."

The special category has been created to provide a platform for young talent to showcase their storytelling abilities via short films, using the digital medium. The first set of awards in this category will be given at this year's edition of the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival.

It will take its participants from script to screen; from facilitating mentorship in script development, to finance and then also provide a platform for exhibition and distribution. The only criteria for this award is that applicants must be between the age group of 21 and 35.

As many as 25 participants will be short listed and mentored by celebrated Indian filmmakers over two days at an all-expenses paid residential masterclass in Mumbai to guide them towards their final cut. From these, the top ten will receive a prize money of Rs 250,000 each, upon completion of their short films.

Also, the top 10 films will be premiered on Jio, apart from being showcased at the film fest. The two best movies will be awarded.