The city's eagerly awaited Mumbai Academy of Moving Images (MAMI) Film Festival will start from October 21.
This time, the festival will play host to an all-women jury for the first time in 12 years since its inception.
Jane Campion, filmmaker and Academy Award winner for Best
Screenplay for
The Piano, is going to be the president of the jury for the festival initiated by Reliance Big Entertainment.
Srinivasan Narayanan, director of the festival, says they thought of being different this time and decided to retain only women on the jury. Tanya Seghatchian, Samira Makhmalbaf, Yoon Jeong-Hee and Suhasin Mani Ratnam are panelists on the jury.
He said it was not difficult getting these famous five on board.
"Jane had been to the International Film Festival of India in Goa a couple of years ago and was very happy with her experience. When we called her to preside over the jury, she immediately agreed," he said.
Narayanan said each of the above-mentioned panelist is a name to reckon with.
"Tanya is the head of UK Film Fund and has co-produced the first four Harry Potter movies in association with Warner Bros," he said.
"At 17, Tanya made her first movie, The Apple, which was invited to more than 100 festivals and the following year she made it to the competition section at Cannes," he added.
"Jeong-Hee is a veteran Korean actress and recently made a comeback in Poetry directed by Lee Chang-Dong. Suhasini has won the National Award for Best Actress for Tamil film, Sindhu Bhairavi."
The festival director reveals that Campion will conduct a master class during the seven-day festival that will conclude on October 28 with an award ceremony.
He declined to give details saying: "Jane is still finalising the programme."
The venue for the festival is likely to be finalised in another few days. Chandan theatre and PVR multiplex in Juhu are venues said to be under consideration.
The catalogue of the movies to be screened will be available on the festival's website on October 5. This time there will be a limited number of press screenings in advance, informs Narayanan.