Officials scurry to organise a grand 14th edition of Bengaluru’s film festival.
Story so far: The government-supported Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFF) will be held in the city from March 23 to March 30. Revenue Minister R Ashok, who will organise it this year, reportedly met CM Bommai and the President of the Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy (KCA) to discuss the event. Like all previous iterations, the 14th edition will be held in the Orion Mall, Rajajinagar. Senior film society activist HN Narahari Rao, the festival’s artistic director, will help the recently assembled curation team to promptly set up the event.
- The event will kick off with a grand opening on the steps of Vidhana Soudha. The valedictory will be chaired by the governor, and actors from different languages will feature as chief guests, adding to the pomp and fervour.
- The team plans to screen a retrospective of Manipuri filmmaker Aribam Shyam Sharma and Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembene as a homage to his centenary year. The festival hopes to feature overlooked indie Kannada filmmakers too.
- BIFF will have films from across the globe competing in different categories, followed by a critics’ week. The retrospectives will appear in the world, Kannada, and Indian categories.
What’s new? R Ashok has appealed to the CM to increase the prize money for winners to add to the event’s prestige. The prize money hasn’t been reviewed or revised in five years.
- According to him, a prestigious film festival has the calibre to strengthen the image of the city and Kannada cinema. With Kannada Cinema achieving global recognition and awards, he believes it is time to represent and reward Kannadigas’ talent.