Representative image of a movie reel.
Credit: Pixabay Photo
Bengaluru: The Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFes) on Tuesday announced a new venue for its 17th edition, beginning January 29.
The festival, which was earlier held at PVR Cinemas in Orion Mall, Rajajinagar, has now been shifted to Cinepolis at Lulu Mall, also located in Rajajinagar.
Cinephiles express concerns over accessibility and claim the festival experience will be an expensive affair with fewer eateries in proximity to the new venue.
The closest metro station to Lulu Mall is the Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna Metro Station, an exhausting 700-metre walk from the mall. However, Lulu Mall has been providing free buggy services to and from the metro station. At the Orion Mall, the Sandal Soap Factory metro station is located within 300 metres.
Another concern is about seating capacity at Cinepolis in Lulu Mall, which has a total of only 2,052 seats.
Murali PB, artistic director of the festival, said that the difference in the seating will only be about 150 screens.
“PVR in Orion had about 2,600 seating capacity. We were able to screen films in only seven halls — one hall was booked for masterclasses and three gold class screens for jury screenings — making it only about 2,200 seats. At Cinepolis, movies will be screened on all 11 screens. Delegates will also have more options,” he said.
The festival will also have eight days of screening this year. Sadhu Kokila, chairperson of the Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy, said Lulu Mall had agreed to give separate space for workshops and masterclasses, press conferences, open-air screenings and photo exhibitions. “This will allow people apart from registered delegates to participate in the festival,” he told DH.
“We had planned open-air screenings last year itself but did not get permission at Orion Mall. The Brigade Gateway apartments facing the mall objected to it. But Lulu Mall has no objection to us utilising the premises for the same,” he added.
Kannada classics restored and remastered at the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) in Pune will be brought down to Bengaluru for open-air screenings, he confirms.
Speaking about the distance between the mall and the nearest metro station, Kokila said more buggies would be added for the convenience of the public. “Apart from that, there is also a bus stop at Sujatha Talkies, a 150 metre walk to the mall.”
All the mall facilities that were offered at Orion — concession on parking fee and substandard food prices inside PVR — will continue to apply at Lulu Mall, he said. “Additionally, we will also collaborate with a restaurant inside the mall to issue coupons for BIFFes delegates at substandard prices.”