BIFFes all set to kick off on Feb 29

Bengaluru: The 15th edition of the Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFes) will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, along with guests of honour — filmmaker Jabbar Patel who is known for his biographical film Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, Kannada film star Shivarajkumar, Bangladeshi actor Azmeri Bandhon and Czech film critic and academician Viera Langerova, at Vidhana Soudha on February 29.

The inauguration will be followed by a performance by three-time Grammy Award winner Ricky Kej. Post which, the opening film of the festival ‘Bonjour Switzerland’, directed by Peter Luisi, will be screened.

Bonjour Switzerland is an interesting comedy drama about the multilingual country which is left in a crisis after a public vote to choose a single national language is passed.

About 180 films from 50 countries will be screened across sections, among which 30 Kannada films will be screened to celebrate 90 years of Kannada cinema and 50 years of Karnataka. Germany is the country in focus. In collaboration with Goethe Institut (Max Mueller Bhavan), the festival will screen eight films and have an editing masterclass by Kai Eiermann, the editor of ‘The Ordinaries’.

In a press conference, artistic director N Vidyashankar spoke about how technology has evolved over the years. “We’ve not received a single film physically. All the films have come in the DCP format,” he said.

Vidyashankar also added, “although BIFFes is the last festival on the calendar, we have received about 30 India premieres.”

Wild Swans, a Bodo language film from Assam, which discusses patriarchy will be screened and it will be followed by a discussion on gender sensitivity in cinema by the Karnataka Women Writers’ Association. Filmmaker Jabbar Patel will hold a session on constitutional values in Indian cinema.

Incredible India section will feature films in the Tulu, Kodava, Banjara, Arebashe, Markodi, Galo, Rabha, Santhali and Taiphake languages.

Documentaries and short films based on the festival’s theme, ‘Human dignity, social justice, environmental concerns and correcting gender equalities’ will be the special focus.

BIFFes will also have masterclasses on cinematography, art and production design, sessions on film criticism, film co-production and marketing possibilities, and impact of AI in cinema.

Online delegate registration will close on February 28. For details visit biffes.org.