13 most-anticipated Indian and international titles to watch at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2023

Get set to witness the magic of 250 films from 70 countries and in 70 languages on the big screen at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2023, which begins tomorrow, October 27, and will go on until November 5. While every film at the festival is an experience and masterclass in itself, here’s a list of some of the most anticipated titles to watch out for. 

'The Buckingham Murders' by Hansal Mehta, produced by Kareena Kapoor Khan and Ektaa R Kapoor

Set in the quaint borough of High Wycombe, England, The Buckingham Murders is the story of a grieving cop who loses her child to murder and moves to another town, where she’s tasked with investigating the disappearance of a missing child. Exploring themes of trauma, grief, immigration, and the innate need for closure, the film illustrates the polarised nature of our times and the human cost of that divide.

Country: India, United Kingdom | Language(s): English, Hindi

Time, date, and venue: 9:30 p.m, October 27, The Grand Theatre, NMACC

'Berlin' by Atul Sabharwal

It's the winter of 1993. A deaf-mute young man is arrested by ‘Bureau’ and accused of being a spy. A sign language expert is brought in to act as an interpreter for the government’s agent and the ‘spy’. The journey of unravelling the mystery sucks the sign language expert into the dark vortex of rivalry between intelligence agencies, deceit, and corruption. It's where the boundaries between innocence and guilt get hazy.

Country: India | Language(s): English, Hindi

Time, date, and venue: 7:30 p.m., October 31, BKC Maison PVR, Jio World Drive - Audi 6 and 4:45 p.m., November 2, Andheri PVR ICON, Infiniti Mall - Audi 3

'Kaibutsu (Monster)' by Hirokazu Kore-eda

When her young son, Minato, starts behaving strangely, his mother guesses something is wrong. Discovering that a teacher is responsible for her son's behaviour, she storms into the school demanding to know what transpired. But as the story unfolds through the eyes of the mother, the teacher, and the child, the truth gradually emerges.

Country: Japan | Language(s): Japanese 
Time, date, and venue: 1:30 p.m., October 28, The Grand Theatre, NMACC and 1:15 p.m., November 2, Regal Cinema, Colaba

'Los delincuentes (The Delinquents)' by Rodrigo Moreno

The Delinquents reinvents heist film as a free-flowing adventure. A bank employee plans his liberation from corporate monotony: he’ll steal enough money for a modest retirement, then confess and serve prison time while his co-worker holds on to the cash. But, under pressure, the accomplice heads to a remote idyll to hide the funds. There, he encounters a mysterious woman who will transform his life forever. This latest film from Argentinian writer-director Rodrigo Moreno melds the existential and the playful to explore the nature of freedom. It is at turns surreal, relatable, funny, romantic, surprising, restorative, and above all—an absolute delight.

Country: Argentina | Language(s): Spanish

Time, date, and venue: 7:30 p.m., October 27, Goregaon PVR ICON, Oberoi Mall - Audi 6 and 10:00 a.m., November 1, Juhu PVR Dynamix Mall, Juhu - Audi 1

'The Pot-au-Feu' by Trần Anh Hùng 

It's 1885. Peerless cook Eugenie has worked for the famous gourmet Dodin for the last 20 years. As time goes by, love for gastronomy and mutual admiration turns into a romantic relationship. Their association gives rise to dishes, one more delicious than the next, that confound even the world’s most illustrious chefs. But Eugenie is fond of her freedom and has never wanted to marry Dodin. So, he decides to do something he has never done before: cook for her.

Country: France | Language(s): French

Time, date, and venue: 12 p.m., October 27, Regal Cinema, Colaba; 3:30 p.m., October 29, Andheri PVR ICON, Infiniti Mall - Audi 4; and 1:00 p.m., November 1, Ghatkopar INOX R-City Mall - Audi 3

'Orlando, ma biographie politique (Orlando, My Political Biography)' by Paul B Preciado

A century after the publication of Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf, Paul B Preciado, philosopher and trans activist, addresses a letter to tell her that her character has come true: the world is becoming Orland-esque. The spectator encounters Orlando’s bearings as the portrait emerges of a collective being with multiple faces, voices, and bodies.

Country: France | Language(s): French

Time, date, and venue: 11:30 a.m., October 31, BKC Maison PVR, Jio World Drive - Audi 4 and 1:00 p.m, November 1, Malad INOX Inorbit Mall - Audi 2

'Perfect Days' by Wim Wenders

Hirayama seems content with his simple life as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. Outside his structured routine, he enjoys music and books. He loves trees and takes photos of them. A series of unexpected encounters unfold in this deeply moving reflection on finding beauty in the everyday world.

Country: Japan, Germany | Language(s): English, Japanese

Time, date, and venue: 4:30 p.m., October 27, Ghatkopar INOX R-City Mall - Audi 3; 6:00 p.m., October 30, Regal Cinema, Colaba; and 8:30 p.m., November 1 at Malad INOX Inorbit Mall - Audi 6

'Kadib Abyad' (The Mother of All Lies) by Asmae El Moudir

Every family has secrets. But when Moroccan filmmaker, Asmae El Moudir, agrees to help her parents move out of their long-time Casablanca house, she realises her family’s mysteries are vast. Why do her parents have only one picture of her childhood? And why is she certain the girl in the picture isn’t her at all? She asks them probing questions, for only by dipping into the lies can she draw to the surface what’s real.

Country: Morocco, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia | Language(s): Arabic

Time, date, and venue: 4:00 p.m., October 30, Ghatkopar INOX R-City Mall - Audi 3 and 4:00 p.m., November 2, BKC Maison PVR, Jio World Drive - Audi 4

'Magyarázat mindenre (Explanation for Everything)' by Gábor Reisz

It’s summer in Budapest. High school student, Abel is struggling to focus on his final exams while coming to the realisation that he is hopelessly in love with his best friend, Janka. The studious Janka has her own unrequited love with married history teacher Jakab, who had a previous confrontation with Abel’s conservative father. The tensions of a polarised society unexpectedly come to the surface when Abel’s history graduation exam turns into a national scandal.

Country: Hungary, Slovakia | Language(s): Hungarian

Time, date, and venue: 10:00 a.m., October 29, Malad INOX Inorbit Mall - Audi 5; 4:00 p.m., October 31, Ghatkopar INOX R-City Mall - Audi 4; 10:00 p.m., November 3, Regal Cinema, Colaba

'The Monk and the Gun' by Pawo Choyning Dorji

Kingdom of Bhutan, 2006. Modernisation has finally arrived. It is the last country in the world to connect to the Internet and television, and now the biggest change of all awaits: democracy. The authorities organise a mock election to teach people how to vote but the locals appear unconvinced. Travelling to rural Bhutan, where religion is more popular than politics, the election supervisor discovers that a monk is planning a mysterious ceremony for election day.

Country: Bhutan, France, Taiwan, USA | Language(s): Dzongkha, English

Time, date, and venue: 6:30 p.m., October 28, 1:00 p.m., October 29, Malad INOX Inorbit Mall - Audi 2; 7:30 p.m., October 30, Andheri PVR ICON, Infiniti Mall - Audi 2; 10:00 a.m., November 1, Goregaon PVR ICON, Oberoi Mall - Audi 5

'Strange Way of Life' by Pedro Almodóvar

A man crosses the desert on horseback that separates him from Bitter Creek. He comes to visit Sheriff Jake. Twenty-five years earlier, the Sheriff and Silva, the breeder who comes to meet him, worked together as hitmen. Silva visits him under the pretext of reuniting with his childhood friend, and they indeed celebrate their reunion, but the next morning, Sheriff Jake tells him that the reason for his trip is not to follow in the footsteps of their old friendship.

Country: Spain, France | Language(s): English

Time, date, and venue: 10:30 a.m., October 27, Regal Cinema, Colaba and 1:00 p.m., October 29, Juhu PVR Dynamix Mall, Juhu - Audi 1

'The Old Oak' by Ken Loach

The Old Oak is a special place. Not only is it the last pub standing, but it is also the only remaining public space where people can meet a once-thriving mining community. TJ Ballantyne, the landlord, hangs on to The Old Oak by his fingertips, and his hold is endangered when it becomes contested territory after the arrival of Syrian refugees. In an unlikely friendship, Ballantyne encounters a young Syrian, Yara, with her camera. Can they find a way for the two communities to understand each other? So unfolds a deeply moving drama about loss, fear, and the difficulty of finding hope.

Country: Belgium, France, United Kingdom | Language(s): English
Time, date, and venue: 10:00 a.m., October 29, Regal Cinema, Colaba and 1:30 p.m., November 2, Ghatkopar INOX R-City Mall - Audi 4

'The New Boy' by Warwick Thornton

Set in 1940s Australia, the movie revolves around the life of a nine-year-old Aboriginal orphan boy who has his life turned upside down as he's taken from the wilds of the outback to a Catholic orphanage run by a renegade nun. Over time, his presence disturbs the delicately balanced world in this story of spiritual struggle, as he starts to question his belief and undying faith. As he encounters and explores Christianity, he soon realises that there is a faith that will never accept him for who he truly is to leave his future hanging in the balance and life torn between two contrasting worlds.

Country: Australia | Language(s): English

Time, date, and venue: 8:00 p.m., October 27, Ghatkopar INOX R-City Mall - Audi 4; 3:00 p.m., October 31, Regal Cinema, Colaba; and 8:30 p.m., November 2, Andheri PVR ICON, Infiniti Mall - Audi 4