2 weeks Ago By Priya Singh
Apple has launched the second edition of its MAMI Select: Filmed on iPhone program in partnership with the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI), spotlighting four emerging Indian filmmakers—Amrita Bagchi, Rohin Raveendran Nair, Chanakya Vyas, and Shalini Vijayakumar. This year’s edition showcases their innovative storytelling across various genres and languages, all captured using the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The program pairs emerging talent with celebrated Indian filmmakers—Konkona Sen Sharma, Vikramaditya Motwane, Lijo Jose Pellissery, and Vetri Maaran—who guide them through every stage of the filmmaking process.
Highlighting the creative freedom enabled by mobile technology, Konkona praised the iPhone’s ability to empower bold, unconventional storytelling. ALSO SEE: Apple Celebrates 10 Years Of Activity Rings With Global Close Your Rings Day: How To Earn Digital Badges, Rewards Vikramaditya Motwane echoed this, calling iPhone filmmaking a tool for personal expression and describing mentorship as a mutually enriching experience. MAMI festival director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur noted that the films stand out for their cultural richness, rooted in the diverse languages and regions of India.
Amrita Bagchi’s Tinctoria is a psychological thriller inspired by the 1859 Indigo Revolt in Bengal, using the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s Cinematic mode to track airborne objects with precision. She praised the phone’s 4K120 fps capability for offering immense flexibility during editing, especially under tight schedules. In Kovarty, Rohin Raveendran Nair blends love and magical realism in a story about a typist and her typewriter, using the iPhone’s compact form to capture unique POV shots from within the typewriter itself.
Chanakya Vyas’ Mangya explores a young boy’s bond with his pet rooster in a poignant coming-of-age narrative. For a key scene requiring a long, pre-dawn tracking shot, Vyas relied on the iPhone’s Action mode, highlighting its remarkable stabilization and efficiency for handheld shooting. Meanwhile, Shalini Vijayakumar’s Seeing Red is a comedic horror film set in a Tamil household, exploring suppressed female rage while subverting gender norms by using visual techniques traditionally associated with male-driven Tamil cinema.
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