MOOTHON STREAMING OCTOBER 30

THEINDIAN FILM FESTIVAL OF MELBOURNE

Festival dates:  October 23 – 30

“A handsome, accomplished piece of work.” Variety

“An urgent drama pondering gender, sexuality, violence, and tolerance.” TIFF

Film lovers across Australia have enthusiastically embraced this year’s online presentation of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne with over 22,000 film views achieved in just the opening weekend.  The festival closes this Friday and is delighted to announce the South Indian Malayalam language title MOOTHON (The Elder One) as the closing night film. The film will be available to stream from 6pm till midnight on Friday 30 October. 

IFFM Director MituBhowmick Lange: “It’s been heartening to see film lovers across the country engage so wholeheartedly with this year’s selection of films and donate to Festival partner Mental Health Foundation Australia so generously. We are delighted to present the beautiful and confronting MOOTHON by one of India’s finest female directors to close this year’s Festival.” 

MOOTHONis directed by writer director Geetu Mohandaswhose previous film LIAR’S DICE received two National Film Awards, premiered at Sundance Film Festival and was chosen by the Government of India as India’s entry for the U.S. 87th Academy Awards. 

MOOTHON had its World Premiere at the 2019 Toronto Film Festival and is a complex, multi layered portrait of Mumbai told through story of a young boy Mulla (Sanjana Dipu) who comes to Mumbai from Lakshadweep, to find his missing elder brother. 

TIFF described the film as, “Alternating between scenes of bracing violence and heartbreaking tenderness, The Elder One is an epic story of familial bonds and underworld misadventure, infused with urgent questions regarding gender, sexuality, and tolerance. Mohandas presents us with an unsparing vision of Mumbai as a place of decadence and ruthlessness, while ensuring that, with enough love, tenacity, and courage, any place can be home.”

Another highlight of closing night is the announcement of the 2020 Short Film Competition winner. The announcement will be made in an online event in partnership with Mental Health Foundation Australia. ‘Together’ is the theme of the 2020 IFFM Short Film Festival Competition which this year received a remarkable and unprecedented 3000+ entries indicating people’s creativity during lockdown. The winning film is being judged by Varun Sharma, the Festival’s 2011 Short Film Competition winner who is making his directorial debut this year with a Bollywood mainstream film starring Rani Mukherji and Saif Ali khan , produced by Yash Raj Studios 

Over 7 days the festival has screened over 60 films in 17 languages, including 34 International Premieres and 56 Australian Premieres, available to audiences across Australia as the year’s festival has moved online. 

All films in this year’s Festival are available for viewing free of charge across Australia till October 30. In recognition of the pressures this year has placed on many people, IFFM has partnered with Mental Health Foundation Australia and encourages festival participants to donate to MHFA when booking.