BIFFes to be held from January 29 to February 6; theme on women empowerment

Bengaluru: The 17th edition of the Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFes) will be held between January 29 and February 6. The theme for this year is likely to be centred on women empowerment, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced at a press conference on Tuesday.

The opening ceremony will take place at the Vidhana Soudha. The event will be inaugurated by the chief minister alongside his deputy D K Shivakumar. Veteran actor Prakash Raj, who is the edition’s brand ambassador, will also be present. 

New venue

This year, the main venue for the screenings will be Cinepolis at Lulu Mall in Rajajinagar, where 11 screens will host the 400 scheduled screenings. For the past nine years, BIFFes has been held at PVR Cinemas at Orion Mall in Rajajinagar. More space in Lulu Mall for academic activities and open-air screenings is the reason for the change in venue this year, said a well-placed source. 

Additional screenings are slated for Dr Rajkumar Bhavana (Kalavidara Sangha) in Chamarajpet, and Suchitra Film Society in Banashankari.

The festivals this year will be held for nine days. Films will be screened from January 30 to February 6. There will be about 400 screenings of over 200 films from 60 countries. Critically acclaimed films from film festivals like Cannes, Venice and Toronto will be screened. 

Andrzej Wajda retrospective

BIFFes this year will have a retrospective of acclaimed Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda, known for such iconic films as ‘The Promised Land’ (1975), ‘The Maids of Wilko’ (1979), ‘Man of Iron’ (1981) and ‘Katyn’ (2007). The year 2026 marks the auteur’s birth centenary year. 

Wajda’s films explored Poland’s political and social evolution and myths of Polish national identity. He made two colossal trilogies — War trilogy (‘A Generation’, ‘Kanał’ and ‘Ashes and Diamonds’) and ‘Man of Marble’, ‘Man of Iron’ and ‘Walesa: Man of Hope’ — that addressed agonies and plight of war in Poland and the growing romantic patriotism in the country. The Polish Cultural Centre based in New Delhi will collaborate with the FIAPF accredited festival.

Other international collaborations include Goethe Max Mueller Bhavan, Royal Thai Institute and Alliance Francaise. The French institute will also curate some of the best films from Africa. 

Indian retrospective

BIFFes will also celebrate 50 years of cinematic journeys of film auteur Girish Kasaravalli and film veterans S V Rajendra Singh Babu and Jayamala. The ‘Restored Classics’ section will showcase iconic films from Vajreshwari Combines, recently restored by the NFDC-NFAI.

The festival will also pay homage to cinema veterans who died in 2025 — south Indian icon B Saroja Devi, Bollywood star Dharmendra and critically acclaimed cinematographer Shaji N Karun who worked in Malayalam films. 

Some of the masterclasses and workshops will be live-streamed for the first time.

Delegate registration will begin on January 16 — Rs 800 for delegates and Rs 400 for students, senior citizens, and film society members and film professionals.