As many as 15 screens in both Mysuru and Bengaluru will show films selected for screening as a part of the eighth Bengaluru International Film Festival (Biffes) from January 28 to February 4.

The festival has been extended to the City of Palaces, Mysuru, from this year. The films will be screened at Inox Cinemas (formerly Satyam Cineplex) at Mall of Mysore on MG Road.

The festival will be inaugurated at Vidhana Soudha, Bengaluru on January 28, while the valedictory will be held in Mysuru. The screenings will begin from January 29, a day after the inaugural ceremony. Awards will be distributed during the closing ceremony.

Addressing media persons on Friday, after inaugurating the temporary office for the festival at Department of Information and Public Relation, on Dhanwantri Road, Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy Chairman and  noted film director S V Rajendra Singh Babu said, “In Mysuru, the movies will be shown at four screens in the multiplex, followed by 11 screens at PVR Cinemas, Orion Mall, Rajajinagar, Bengaluru.”

Babu added, “Over 170 films from 61 countries— Asian (12 films), Indian (13) and Kannada (15) will be screened during the festival that includes three different competition sections. Like previous editions, the films will be screened under contemporary cinema of world, country focus: Mexico, Iran and Turkey; directors retrospectives: Istvan Szabo of Hungary and Nils Malmros of Denmark; artist retrospective: B Sarojadevi, Dadasaheb Phalke award winners Mrinal Sen and Adoor Gopalakrishnan.”

Tribute to directors
Films directed by noted directors Siddalingaiah and K S L Swamy, who passed away recently, will also be screened, as a mark of tribute to them. From this year, documentaries will also be screened. Some of the best films that had made it to major international film festivals of Berlin, Cannes, Toronto, Goa, Mumbai, Kerala and other festivals will be repeated, he added.

Films by renowned filmmakers such as Istvan Szabo from Hungary, Jafer Panahi from Iran, Jia Zhang Ke from China, Hou Hsiao-Hsien from Japan, Emin Alper from Turkey, Jacques Audiard from France, Christian Petzold from Germany, and Nanni Moretti from Italy will be exhibited. More than 50 foreign delegates are expected to participate in the festival.

Babu said, for the first time, the International Film Festival’s organising committee is headed by a chief minister, while the minister for Information and Public Relations is the executive chairman.

Noted actress and MLC Jayamala is the artistic director.

Entry is only for those who register after paying separate fees fixed for public and members of film societies.

For public, the registration fee is Rs 600, while for students, members of film society, senior citizens and representatives of film industry it is Rs 300.