You've read all about our first day at the festival in an earlier post. After a mad rush at the bookings, we finally managed to secure seats for our favourite picks during the weekend. Of course, we knew it wasn't gonna be easy and had to let go of some films, due to unavailability. Weekend at the cinemas saw a huge crowd. People were literally seen camping out and queuing up hours before the screening, just to ensure they catch up with their favourite film. Here's a round up of our weekend watch at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2016.

Day 2 kickstarted with the most dark, unsettling, psychological-horror film, The Neon Demon. Certain visuals in the film were nicely crafted, but as the story progressed, it somehow made the breakfast (morning show, remember) churn in your tummy. After wrapping up some commitments in between, we got back to the cinemas to end our day with a fun, satirical Saudi Arabian film, Barakah meets Barakah. The theatre was packed, with people rushing to grab a preferred seat, and later, even sitting in the front row seats, to enjoy the film. Barakah meets Barakah was an irony of how the moral police in Saudi Arabia, and the whole society at large, is caged and deprived of freedom of expression, art and love.

When it's the MAMI week, even a Sunday is packed with schedules and day filled with other work commitments. For us, Day 3 was full of experimental cinema. We started off with the much anticipated French-German-Belgian psychological thriller - Elle. While the film had an interesting plot, it unfortunately could not hold our attention for long. Our afternoon pick certainly set the tone right. Swiss Army Man received a thunderous applause from the audience. The chemistry between the lead actors, Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe was spectacular, making the audience fall in love with their world. Our Sunday ended with Madly, a global anthology film with six stories of modern love. However, we personally felt it was full of loose ends and random stories. Definitely not worth the hype.

It's Day 4 at the cinema and we look forward to watching some good films. It also marks the premiere of 'Marathi Talkies', where four beautiful Marathi films will be showcased. Watch this space to know more about our day at the cinemas.

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Regulars at Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2016 know that once the festival kickstarts, life is never the same again for an entire week. A typical MAMI delegate's day starts as early 8 am, schedule in one hand and maybe, coffee in another. bookmyshow becomes a permanent bookmark on your desktop, as you log on to book a seat for your 'must watch' shows, scheduled for the next day (good ol' advance booking). All this, while secretly praying for availability. Of course, rest of the day is spent hopping from one screening (and cinema hall) to another, enjoying the magic of world cinema. For those familiar with the routine, these words may have made you smile. And we are quite sure, Day 01 was similar for most of you. Well, here's what it looked like for Team Dancebee.

For us, the day began with a lot of chaos. Technical errors delayed bookings for shows scheduled on Oct 22. However, 15 minutes later, things got normal. By 8:45 am, most shows were full. However, we were assured of 20% reservation for on-ground bookings at the venue, apart from the general queue. This, of course, came as a huge sight of relief to us. We packed our bags and head out to attend our respective commitments for the day. While Priya chose PVR Phoenix, Team Dancebee's Rasika picked PVR ECX. 

While we thought our worries were restricted to just the technical errors, there was more. At ECX, confusion led to chaos at most screenings. Delegates in the general line had to make do with front row seats only. There were arguments and hassles almost before every screening. It was like watching a film outside the audi. However, the situation at Phoenix was completely the opposite. Most afternoon screenings were empty, and the entire on-ground booking process was quite smooth. There was no chaos or argument of any sort. Cinephiles were spotted enjoying a chat or hot cuppa at the nearby Starbucks outlet, in between shows. Nobody rushed ahead of others, and the atmosphere was great.

While Priya had to miss her first screening for the day - I Called Him Morgan, due to unavoidable reasons, she caught up with Keith Mainland's documentary Tower, based on the University of Texas shootings in 1966. The film is a mix of rotoscopic animation and archival footage, which is predominately used to depict the series of events. It also includes interviews, including that of the witnesses, police among others. Pankaj Johar's Cecilia followed next, a documentary based on the crisis and confusion faced by Johar's house help Cecilia Hasda, after her daughter goes missing and becomes a victim of child trafficking. The film perfectly explores the poignant journey of Cecilia, the vicious circle of child trafficking and the ugly twists and turns that one has to face, in order to achieve justice in this country. Truly, an eye opener!

For Rasika, the two films she watched on Day 1 revolved around strong and distinct characters. The story was like a background theme, and the characters stood out extensively. Certain Women explores a handful of intersecting lives and focuses on three women, who led a normal life, and are creating their own path in life, while living in a small town. Next, the German film - Wild, made the audience go speechless. The female protagonist (Lilith Stangenberg) took her performance to another level of wildness.

As the day came to an end, we got back to work and life, all ready to set our alarms for another early morning (and some mad rush for Sunday show bookings). In addition, we are looking forward to the much awaited Movie Mela, a two-day film extravaganza that has some fun sessions in store. 

Don't forget to follow us on Facebook | Twitter | Snapchat | Instagram for live updates from the event or join the conversation with the hashtag #DancebeeatMAMI!

Text by: Priya Adivarekar, Rasika Pote

Compiled by: Priya Adivarekar

Yesterday, we listed five international films that top our must watch list at Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2016 with Star, which starts tomorrow. In part two and final post of our special series for international cinema at the fest, we discuss five more films, that you should not miss for anything. Read on, and take notes!

I, Daniel Blake - UK
Director: Ken Loach
Winner of Palme d’Or and the Prix du Public winner at Locarno this year. 80-year-old British filmmaker Ken Loach’s latest populist masterpiece made him only the ninth director to win the Cannes award twice (after ‘The Wind That Shakes the Barley’ in 2006). This emphatic drama is about a disabled man, strangled by the red tape of the benefits system.

First Screening: Day 02, Regal Cinema, 5:40 pm

Neruda - Chile
Director: Pablo Larrain
Neruda is the story of an inspector, who hunts down Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, and becomes a fugitive in his home country in the late 1940s for joining the Communist Party. The film had its World Premiere at Cannes, followed by much talked about screenings at Telluride, Toronto and New York, making it one of the highlights at MAMI this year.

First Screening: Day 01, PVR Icon (Audi 3), 12:30 pm

Sand Storm - Israel
Director: Elite Zexer
Elite Zexer’s Sand Storm is a story based in Southern Israel. The film is about a teen's forbidden love affair, that challenges the traditions of her Bedouin mother and father. The film won the Grand Jury prize at Sundance, earlier this year. 

First Screening: PVR Mulund (Audi 1), 2:45 pm 

The Red Turtle - France

Director: Michael Dudok de
This beautiful French-Belgian-Japanese animated film created a lot of buzz at the Cannes this year by winning the Un Certain Regard special prize. It is a co-production between Wild Bunch and Studio Ghibli. This film tells the story of a man, who tries to escape from a deserted island and battles a giant turtle. What's interesting is that the film has no dialogue, and is a hot favourite among film buffs at the fest this year.

First Screening: PVR Icon, (Audi 3), 10:30 am

Elle
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Isabelle Huppert delivers a standout performance as a woman turning the tables on her attacker, in the controversial director’s electrifying and provocative comeback. The film is official entry for the Oscars this year, from France.

First Screening: PVR ECX (Audi 2), 10am

The 18th edition of Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival is just a few hours away. Follow us, as Team Dancebee gives you the best of Mumbai's most loved film festival. Don't miss live updates, exciting buzz and more, all week long on our Twitter | Snapchat | Facebook and Instagram page. Add #DancebeeatMAMI to join the conversation.

It’s that time of the year again. A weeklong film celebration close to every ardent cinema buff's heart. The time when we eat, sleep and talk films. Yes! We are talking about the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star.  Every year, films from across borders, continents and cultures are screened at the festival, and film buffs are known to enjoy world cinema to their heart's content. The festival is currently in it's 18th edition, and this year too, the lineup of 170+ films is invigorating and eclectic. Honestly, we are super excited to bring you all the scoop and amazing updates from the festival, all week long. But, before we kickstart the festival, we've got you covered with a few special features. In a series of two posts, we present to you a list of top 10 international films which you shouldn't miss for anything! In part one, we discuss the first five movies from the list.

Under The Shadow - Iran

Director: Babak Anvari

This year, the After Dark section at MAMI has got some really spine chilling films, and one of them is Babak Anvari’s film ‘Under the Shadow’.  The film has been under the spotlight, ever since it was premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, back in January. It is also Britain’s official entry to the Oscars. The film is sure to give horror cinema fans a chance to lose their sleep, at least for a few nights.

Screening: Day 01, PVR ECX (Audi 1) at 9:15 pm (for more show timings, refer to the full schedule)

Personal Shopper - France

Director: Oliver Assayas

Another film from the After Dark section, which you should not miss! Oliver Assayas' Personal Shopper has Kristen Stewart playing Maureen, a young american in Paris who works as a personal shopper for a celebrity. The story revolves around a ghost story that takes place in the fashion underworld of Paris. Assayas also picked up the Best Director award at Cannes earlier this year.

First Screening: Day 02, PVR ECX (Audi 3), 7:45 pm

Barakah Meets Barakah – Saudi Arabia

Director:  Mahmoud Sabbagh

This film is considered to be the first ever Saudi Arabia’s rom-com exploring the relationship between a civil servant and a social media celebrity.  It won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the Berlinale, and has also been selected as the Saudi Arabian entry in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 89th Academy Awards.

First Screening: Day 01, PVR Mulund (Audi 1), 8:30 pm

Bacalaureat (Graduation) - Romania

Director: Cristian Mungiu

Master filmmaker Cristian Mungiu bagged the Best Director trophy at Cannes this year with this film. The plot revolves around a doctor and his efforts to help his 18-year-old daughter, who is on the verge of graduation and has a long-planned scholarship in mind.  Mungiu's last film, ‘Beyond The Hills,’ won the best screenplay and actress award four years ago, at the Cannes film festival.

First Screening: Day 02, Lè Rève - Bandra, 11:15 am

The Salesman - Iran

Director: Asghar Farhadi

This film is directed by Asghar Farhadi - highly acclaimed film maker, who had earlier helmed ‘A Separation’ and ‘The Past’. The Salesman is Iran’s official Oscar entry this year. It was also nominated for this year’s Palme d’Or. Actor Shahab Hosseini went on to win the Best Actor award, while Farhadi walked home with the Best Screenplay trophy at the Cannes. The film is a story of a young couple, who play the lead couple in a local rendition of Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman'. 

First Screening: Day 02, PVR Icon (Audi 2), 4:15 pm

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter | Instagram | Snapchat for live updates from Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star 2016! Follow #DancebeeAtMAMI for all the buzz.