The famous and much respected MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, which has been happening for close to 30 years, has been cancelled for 2025. The organisers announced the news on Monday morning with a statement, and added that they are revamping the 2026 edition, to be announced soon.
MAMI cancellation post
Festival Director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur wrote in a post on X, “This is to inform you that the 2025 edition of MAMI Mumbai Film Festival will not take place as we are in the process of revamping the festival with a dynamic vision and a new team to ensure that the festival returns as a premier showcase for the best of independent, regional and classic cinema from India and around the world.”
He further added, “We are working diligently to reschedule the festival and will announce the new dates for the 2026 edition as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding and support.”
Check out the post on Instagram, here:
This is the first time in 28 years that the festival has been cancelled. Filmmaker Hansal Mehta strongly criticised this cancellation. He wrote on X, “It’s a cruel irony that Mumbai draped in the glitz of being India’s financial and cinematic capital cannot keep alive a film festival of its own. Abandoned by the self-appointed gatekeepers of cinema who chased shinier stages and safer bets it was left in the hands of a few passionate believers to run on pure faith. And now that fragile flame has been snuffed out. No ceremony. No outrage. Just a slow, silent forgetting. What should have been a cultural cornerstone has been reduced to a footnote – another casualty of apathy dressed as progress.”
Check out the post here:
It’s a cruel irony that Mumbai draped in the glitz of being India’s financial and cinematic capital cannot keep alive a film festival of its own.
— Hansal Mehta (@mehtahansal) July 21, 2025
Abandoned by the self-appointed gatekeepers of cinema who chased shinier stages and safer bets it was left in the hands of a few… https://t.co/Y2BPYoEPUr
About the MAMI Film Festival, Mumbai
The Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI), a public trust based in the city, started the film festival in 1997. Since then, the festival has received all kinds of support from Bollywood. While Aamir Khan donated money to the trust, Priyanka Chopra and Kiran Rao also served as Chairperson over the years. Reliance’s Jio was the sponsor of the festival in 2023, marking a huge budget shift for the festival. However, last year, in 2024, Jio put a hold on the sponsorship. With that, Anupama Chopra stepped down as the Festival Director. Since then, Dungarpur took over the role.