Bengaluru International Film Festival from Feb 21

The much-awaited Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFes) has been scheduled to be held from February 21. The screening of the movies and other events are scheduled to be held at Orion Mall in Rajajinagar.

The event will pay homage to late actor turned politician M H Ambareesh, and film personalities like Mrinal Sen, M Bhaktavatsala, M N Vyasa Rao and C H Lokanath.

Ambareesh’s memories will also be part of the retrospectives which showcases the works of the prominent filmmakers in the industry including Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, and Malayali director turned cinematographer Shaji Karun.

Talking to media, N Vidyashankar, artistic director of BIFFes said: “We have shortlisted five films of Ambareesh to be screened at BIFFes 2019. His on-screen debut Nagarahaavu, Shubamangala, Ranganayaki, Paduvarahalli Pandavaru and Antha. For now, we have thought to screen these films.”

The eleventh edition of BIFFes will be inaugurated by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on February 21 and regular screenings of the film will commence from February 22.

Vidyashankar added: "Till now, we have received 101 films, and the number of films is expected to reach 200. The list includes Oscar-nominated films and movies that have bagged major awards. Besides this, under 'Unsung Incredible India', we have got films from Lakshadweep and Northeast region as well. This includes the little known Indian dialects like Byari, Banjara, Sherdukpen, Jasari, Manipuri, Khasi, Garo, etc."

Under three sections of the competition – Asian, Indian and Kannada -- the jury has received many entries, which have been shortlisted to the final list of movies to be screened. “Under Asian category, we received 67 submissions in which 15 are selected. Under Indian, there were 36 entries out of which 12 are selected. And finally, in Kannada out of 68 entries, we have shortlisted 16 films,” Vijayshankar said.

Celebrating 150 years of Mahatma, ‘Making of Mahatma’ by Shyam Benegal, ‘Gandhi My Father’ by Firoz Abbas Khan and ‘Kurmavatara’ by Girish Kasaravalli will be screened at BIFFes 2019. Workshops, seminars and master classes will also be held during the course of the festival, which will be conducted by renowned filmmakers and technicians.