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The world at hand

Through their eyes
Last Updated 08 February 2017, 19:01 IST
The strong presence of youngsters, especially students, at the ninth edition of the Bengaluru International Film Festival (Biffes) clearly speaks of their strong liking for good and meaningful cinema. Describing the cinematic experience as unique, they feel that the festival has taken their knowledge of world cinema a few notches up.

Swathi Kulkarni, a medical student at KIMS, decided to attend the festival as she wanted to catch some new and experimental films. “There are experimental films not only in foreign languages but also in Kannada, Tamil and Malayalam. I’ve been able to watch a few international films and was thoroughly impressed by the variety provided in terms of content. The international cinematic experience is what I am looking for,” she says.

College-goers, who have been relishing film after film, say that the movies also provide an insight into the culture of other countries. Mohit and Anusha, both students of Chitrakala Parishath, can’t get enough of these films. “There is a lot of excitement because this festival has some of the finest films from all languages. We have managed to watch as many films as we can in a short span,” says Mohit.

Anusha tends to look at movies from the perspective of an art student. “Being a student of art, it is natural for me to look at movies from the perspective of art and culture. For me, watching movies goes beyond entertainment because I believe that filmmaking is an art,” she adds. Mohit also points out that most of the old films are not available in DVD format. “You also don’t find these films online. So, in that sense, the festival has been a great visual experience for me,” says Mohit.

It is the opportunity to interact with some of the film directors and actors that prompted Santosh Rajendran, a student of RV College of Engineering, to attend the festival. Although he had chosen to do engineering, he was always interested in filmmaking.

“I had made several short films and documentaries when I was in school and have kept in touch with the process even after I started doing engineering. I would like to become a filmmaker someday and the sessions at the festival have given me a chance to interact with people from the film industry,” says Santosh.

However, there were some youngsters who felt that the only category that was missing at the festival was the animated section.  Ayush C Joy, who has just completed his graduation, feels that there should have been more animated movies in the festival. “One got to see low budget and commercial films but it would have been nice to include animated movies because I am a big fan of this genre and cinematically, it is a unique experience,” points out Ayush.

The reasonable ticket pricing and the curiosity factor have also attracted many foreigners to the shows. Mira Burger and Aron Bohman from Germany were on a visit here when they decided to hop into the fest. “This is a new experience for us — to come to a film festival here in India. We are looking forward to watching some Indian films,” says Mira.

Aron pitches in, “The ticket pricing is reasonable and one can watch all kinds of movies under one roof. Although, it was curiosity that brought me to  the festival, I have begun enjoying the experience.”
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(Published 08 February 2017, 16:35 IST)

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