On day 1, Biffes draws large crowds

Film buffs turned out in large numbers at the 10th Bengaluru International Film Festival on the inaugural evening on Friday.

Many had to wait for nearly an hour to enter the screens at nine different venues, occupying the seats that remained vacant until afternoon even as a steady stream of movie watchers arrived at the Orion Mall in the morning.

"I've been to the festival for the past three years," said Balu R, a literature student. "I manage to view three to four movies a day. This is the best opportunity for students to watch movies that make sense."

Friends and relatives huddled to research the 41 movies played at nine screens before zeroing in on their favourites. Organisers have put up an additional screen at the Raj Bhavan where 'Allama' and 'The Young Karl Marx' were playing.

At screen 11, budding filmmakers and enthusiasts alike discussed the art with acclaimed director Bharat Bala, who spoke on 'India, the land of storytelling', and listened to Sreejesh Nair's perspective on 'Sound design in the age of digital filmmaking'.

The festival had its moments of confusion, as many ran around to grab a copy of catalogues and screening schedules. A few of them also learnt to their dismay that the films they picked to watch had not yet begun screening.

Adding to the confusion was the minor glitches in three or four screens in the morning, where the national anthem and the video clip on Biffes played repeatedly for 15 minutes.

While the Supreme Court had made the national anthem optional, organisers and the PVR authorities decided to play it before each movie.

Queues lengthened before the ticket counters, where people frantically altered their movie of choice according to the crowd.

Visitors also frequently hounded Kannada filmmakers, actors and television personalities for selfies, making it difficult for the volunteers to clear the venue for the next screening.

Organisers also had to turn away film buffs seeking passes for the festival. "We've given 4,000 passes for 2,800 seats. It's impossible to give more," one of them said.