After an interval of a year, Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFes) is back in the city for its thirteenth edition from March 3 to March 10. The festival will screen 200 films from 55 countries and will include films from both 2020 and 2021, as the festival was cancelled due to the pandemic, last year.
While Orion Mall (11 screens) in Rajajinagar will be the main venue of the Festival, select films will be screened at not only Suchitra Film Society in Banashankari and Kalavidara Sangha in Chamarajpet, but also online, for which registrations are still open. Though the number of COVID-19 cases reported in the city have come down drastically, the government has prescribed COVID-19 appropriate behaviour at the physical screenings - entry only after furnishing the double vaccination certificate and N95 masks mandatory, even during screenings.
The festival will screen special packages of films celebrating 75 years of Indian Independence and 50 years of the Tulu film industry. A retrospective of New German Cinema auteur Volker Schlondorff and Kannada actor Bharathi Vishnuvardhan will also be part of this year’s festival and respects will be paid to deceased actors Puneeth Rajkumar and Sanchari Vijay.
While BIFFes has announced that this edition of the festival will focus on North East India, among Indian states, it is yet to announce the country in focus. Meanwhile, BIFFes has till date announced only the films selected in the competition section and the opening film - Tailor from Greece, directed by Sonia Liza, but not yet the full catalogue of films that will be screened at the week long festival, drawing ire of cineastes.
The festival will be inaugurated on Thursday evening at Gandhi Krishi Vignan Kendra, Ballari Road. National award winning filmmaker Priyadarshan, Kannada actors Bharathi Vishnuvardhan and Darshan Toogudeepa will be the chief guests at the inaugural that will be presided over by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
The screenings of films will begin at the venues and online from March 4 morning. Those interested can register at https://biffes.org/delegate-registration/
