The Mumbai Film Festival, which will take place from March 12 to 22, is going online in the face of ongoing obstacles brought on by the pandemic.

Smriti Kiran, the festival's artistic director, announced on Instagram that the crew would be "having to sit out the March edition of the festival," but that they will unveil a selection of films that would be screened electronically in February and March through partner platform Shift 72.

“This might not be the beginning we wanted but it marks a start. The journey in unfurling the altering and evolving experience that viewing has become during the pandemic continues,” she added.

The Mumbai Academy of Moving Image has approached filmmakers, according to Scroll.in, alleging "logistical and financial challenges" with the impending event.

“We do not know when, what form and shape the festival will take in the future. We have a larger more over-arching logistical reimagining parked at our doorstep that takes into account the way the world has altered to live between waves,” the missive is understood to have read.

The Mumbai Film Festival, like many other similar events around the world, has had a difficult stretch. Due to Covid, the Mumbai festival's 2020 and 2021 events were canceled.

Mumbai issued a statement in August of last year expressing optimism for the future. The aim was to stage a series of year-round activities before holding an in-person edition of the fest in March 2022, with Priyanka Chopra Jonas taking over as chairperson and injecting star power into the team.

In India, the news of the cancellation was welcomed with dismay. One producer told Scroll.in that he didn't understand why the event had to be canceled given the city of Mumbai is doing so well with Covid.