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Films Division working on docu TV channel & resumption of short films in theatres: Mukesh Sharma
NEW DELHI: A total of 110 films from over twenty countries including India will be screened in four sections at the forthcoming 14th edition of the Mumbai International Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films later this month.
Renowned filmmaker Shyam Benegal will be the chief guest for the inauguration on 28 January and the Festival will conclude on 3 February. Actor Jackie Shroff, the first ever brand ambassador for the Festival, will also be present.
A record 825 entries had been received for the competition and 110 shortlisted for the international, National, New Media and Animation categories.
The five-member Jury for the International section is headed by Den Askarian of Germany and other members are: Jesper Andersen from Denmark, Mathieu Roy from Canada, and Siddharth Kak and Gitanjali Rao from India.
The National Jury is headed by filmmaker Mike Pandey and its members are: Biju Dhanapalan and Uma d’Cunha from India, Andrius Stonys from Lithuania and Jane Yu from Taiwan.
The jury for a special section on Public Service Awareness will be headed by the veteran Ramesh Meer with Sekhar Muklharjee and Ashish Kulkarni as members.
In another major shift, the screenings of the films in the Festival will be held at the Films Division theatres, Russian Culture Centre and Sophia College theatres at Pedder Road, Mumbai. Until now, the Festival has been held at the Tata Centre at Nariman Point.
The inauguration and closing functions will be held at the Ravindra Natya Mandir, Prabhadevi at 5 pm on 28 January and 3 February respectively.
This Festival, which is held every alternate year is organised by the Films Division and is supported by the Maharashtra Government.
There will be a Prism section, which will be non-competitive.
Festival Director Mukesh Sharma told a press meet that the award amount will be Rs 55 lakh, Golden Conches, Trophies and Certificates and included Rs 5 lakh for the V Shantaram Memorial Award given for lifetime achievement.
Answering a question, he said he was pursuing with the Government the need for a separate channel run by Prasar Bharati on documentaries and shorts and for resuming short films before the feature in all theatres.
Mike Pandey said he would keen to see an educational television channel, which would include all kinds of films.
Answering a question, Sharma said that the Division had now opened up to NGOs and othes to make films for it.
The Festival will have retrospectives as tributes of Harun Farocki of Germany and Michael Glawogger of Austria, and a special screening of the films of Fernando Melgar of Switzerland.
Homage will be paid through film screenings to K K Chandran, Krishna Mohan, Nirand N Mohapatra, Idessa Sathya, Prem Vaidya, and Ravi Jadhav who died in the last two years.
Other sections include a retrospective of films by Jury members, and special packages such as Artists Cinema, CMS Vatavaran, Public Service Broadcasting Trust, Mexican Institute Films, Italian and Latvian animation, Serbian Films, NFB Animation by Torril Kove, and Wadia Movietone; students workshops and Master Classes; apart from workshops, a seminar, and a daily Open Forum.
Rajiv Kumar who heads the Films Division office in Delhi said simultaneous screenings will be held in Delhi from 29 January to 1 February.
Buoyed by the warm reception to the MIFF zone screening of competition films in National category in cities other than Mumbai during the 13th MIFF, screenings will be held simultaneously in New Delhi, Chennail, Bangalore, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati, Lucknow, Nagpur and Thrissur. MIFF zone is aimed at taking the competition films to film lovers who are unable to travel to Mumbai for the MIFF. Screenings will also be held at the University auditorium Kalina, Mumbai.
Movie Channels
Zee5 launches five free FAST channels on Samsung TV Plus India
New genre-led channels bring comedy, drama, horror, classics and South films to Smart TVs.
MUMBAI: Zee5 just turned Samsung Smart TVs into a free entertainment buffet because when premium content costs nothing, even the remote control starts smiling. Zee5 has launched five curated free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels on Samsung TV Plus India, making high-quality, genre-specific entertainment available subscription-free to millions of Samsung Smart TV owners across the country.
The five channels now live are:
Zee Comedy Nation – Popular comedy shows and movies
Zee Dil Se – Compelling drama series
ZEE Horror Nights – Horror and supernatural content
ZEE Cine Classic – Timeless Indian films
ZEE South Flix – High-energy South Indian films dubbed in Hindi
All content is drawn from Zee5’s extensive library and programmed in a lean-back, always-on format ideal for large-screen viewing. This launch strengthens Zee5’s Connected TV strategy at a time when 64 per cent of its premium content watch time already comes from connected devices.
Zee5 chief business officer Siju Prabhakaran said, “At Zee5, we believe accessibility and scale will define the next phase of digital entertainment growth in India. Our presence on Samsung TV Plus strengthens our Connected TV strategy, enabling viewers to discover curated, genre-led content in a seamless, free, and premium environment.”
Samsung TV Plus India head of partnerships Kunal Mehta added, “Local partnerships are at the heart of how we grow Samsung TV Plus in India. Zee Entertainment is one of India’s most iconic media brands, and bringing their channels to our service means millions more Samsung Smart TV owners can enjoy premium local content, subscription-free.”
The channels are available directly through the pre-installed Samsung TV Plus app with no login or subscription required. This marks another milestone in Zee5’s CTV expansion and builds on its growing international presence, with Zee channels already available on Samsung TV Plus across Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
In a streaming world where paywalls often block the fun, Zee5 and Samsung have quietly opened the gates, proving that sometimes the best things in life (and on your TV) really are free especially when they come with a side of comedy, drama, horror, classics and South Indian blockbuster energy.
