Budget lowered for 11th BIFFES

The budget for the 11th edition of the Bengaluru International Film Festival will be cut by half “without compromising on the quality of cinema”, the state government announced on Friday.

The festival, which will be held from February 7 to 14, will be flagged off at the Banquet Hall of the Vidhana Soudha as against a big, grand stage that was set up last year. Authorities are also said to be wary to invite Bollywood celebrities for the opening ceremony as “they charge a bomb”.

“The budget for the previous edition was about Rs 7-7.5 crore. This time, we want to cap it at Rs 3-3.5 crore,” Information and Public Relations Secretary Pankaj Kumar Pandey told reporters.

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, who unveiled the BIFFES logo, said the government wanted to cut spending “so as to focus more on the quality of cinema”.

The 11th edition of the film festival will have over 200 films from over 60 countries that will be selected by expert committees. The films will be shown on 11 screens at PVR Cinemas in Orion Mall, Rajajinagar. Over 7,000 delegates are expected to participate this time. Like in the previous editions, competitive sections for Asian, Indian and Kannada cinema will continue with cash prizes.