Bombay HC dismisses filmmakers' plea challenging exclusion of their movies from MIFF

The Bombay High Court on Monday dismissed as withdrawn the petition of filmmakers Anand Patwardhan and Pankajrishi Kumar, challenging the decision to exclude their movies from the screening at the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF).

After reviewing the submission, the HC was satisfied with the claim that MIFF has selected all the films for screening without any bias, and agreed that the selection process did not violate any set parameters.

Dismissed as withdrawn means the court would have dismissed the petition had the petitioner not agreed to withdraw it.

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The filmmakers had approached the Bombay HC with their plea against MIFF for rejecting their documentaries for screening at the film festival, alleging that all the movies, that were "even slightly critical of the Central government, were rejected by MIFF's selection committee."

On Friday, the Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh had submitted all records of the selection process followed by the MIFF selection committee on the directions of the High Court.

The filmmakers had alleged that the movies were selected without following the proper procedure and that their movies were rejected on the basis of its topics.

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About the rejected films

The selection committee of the film festival had rejected Patwardhan's 'Vivek/Reason' and Pankajrishi Kumar's 'Janani's Juliet' and 'Two Flags' from being screened at the ceremony, which begins on January 28.

The movie 'Vivek/Reason' covers the historic events of over a period of 100 years from the time of Mahatma Gandhi's assassination to the murders of Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare, and Gauri Lankesh.

Pankajrishi Kumar's movies, on the other hand, are based on issues of caste and gender-based discrimination and honour killing.

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About MIFF

The Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films (MIFF) is a festival organized by the Films Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India.

The festival aims to provide a platform for documentary and short filmmakers from all over the world to meet, exchange ideas and explore possibilities of co-production and marketing of documentary, short and animation films. The festival is open to the public, although prior registration as a delegate is required. 

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(With inputs from ANI)

(Image credits: PTI)