The 10th edition of the Bengaluru International Short Film Festival (BISFF) will be held from 13 - 16 August. In light of the ongoing pandemic, this year, the festival will be held digitally keeping in mind the health and safety of the cinephiles.
About 200 films from across 38 countries will be screened in various categories this year. The festival was launched in 2011 and has grown over the years to become one of the largest short film festivals in India.
In its 10th edition this year, the festival is introducing two additional sections: Let’s Include and Let’s Pitch. The Let’s Include section will showcase short films on intellectual and developmental disabilities, as BISFF aims to fight stigmas by promoting diverse and authentic portrayals of people with disabilities.
The Let’s Pitch section aims at providing a platform for people to pitch their idea for a short film and get it produced. The inaugural segment is currently open for Kannada language and its dialects only. Additionally, a special package from Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) has been included this year.
BISFF is partnering with Goethe Institut and Pocket Films once again to showcase their short films, and has also joined hands with Shorts TV, to air all the films, under the Indian Competition category, on their platform.
In addition to the screenings, the Let’s Talk section will organise a live chat session with film experts, providing an opportunity for film enthusiasts to hear from the experts and learn from their experiences.
The Indian competition includes Our Single Room by Vishnu Dev, Tarun Jain's Kaala (Black), Mayura Dolas's Snakes and Ladders, Arun Fulara's Sunday amongst others. The international competition has films from Switzerland, Israel, Estonia, Egypt and Australia. There is also a section on Kannada films in competition which includes BisiBeleBath by Aravind Kaushik, Koru by Karthik Rao, Frayed Lines by Priya Belliappa.
Earlier this year, the festival received an Oscar accreditation, making it the only Oscar Academy qualifying short film festival in India for the Live Action category. This winning short films in the international and Indian competition sections of BISFF will automatically be eligible for consideration in the Live Action Short Film category of the Academy awards next year, without standard theatrical run, provided the film complies with the stringent Academy rules.
Anand Varadaraj, festival director, said in a statement, “We are excited to proceed with the festival, despite the challenges initially posed due to the current situation. Going digital has brought in a surprising element of reaching out to some big names in the film industry. The artists agreed to do talk shows from their homes and converse with us to answer queries."
"While film buffs might miss the typical theatre going experience of the film fest, they get to enjoy the fest safely at the comfort of their couch," he added. The transition has been smooth and seamless and we are hoping to see more footfalls (digitally) than the earlier years, as cinephiles have the ease of access from anywhere in the world. We are hoping for a grand success through our digital venture."
Film enthusiasts can register and watch the films at their website here and book tickets here.