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With iPhone, there’s so much power contained in such a compact package that you can bypass the conventions of mainstream filmmaking,” she says. “All you need is a great idea, and the guts and determination to follow through with it.”

Alongside fellow Indian film industry icons Vikramaditya Motwane, Lijo Jose Pellissery, and Vetri Maaran, Sen Sharma is mentoring four emerging filmmakers selected by the Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image (MAMI) to create short films for the 2025 MAMI Select: Filmed on iPhone program, now in its second year. Two of last year’s participating films recently won Critics Choice awards for Best Short Film, Best Director (Short Film), and Best Writing (Short Film).

“Shooting on iPhone allows for complete personal expression,” says Maaran. He believes he is learning as much from his mentees as he is teaching them. “We’re living in the age of democracy in filmmaking.”

The filmmakers — Amrita Bagchi, Rohin Raveendran Nair, Chanakya Vyas, and Shalini Vijayakumar — are discovering new cinematic worlds through the lens of iPhone 16 Pro Max.

“The unique voices of these filmmakers are beautifully contextualised through the four languages and regions of India in which they are rooted,” says MAMI festival director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur.

“These are very passionate people with important stories to tell,” says Pellissery. “Shooting on iPhone, they are pushing their own limits with fantastic results.”

Each filmmaker leveraged the powerful capabilities of MacBook Pro with the M4 Max chip to weave their stories together. “Shooting and editing within the Apple family of products gives you a stellar advantage: speed,” says Motwane. That whip-fast performance of MacBook Pro alongside the ease of use of iPhone 16 Pro Max is giving these artists even more creative control on and off set.

Navigating childhood and change, legacy, and liberation, Bagchi, Nair, Vyas, and Vijayakumar will premiere their stories in Mumbai today.