13th edition of Bengaluru International Film Festival to be held in February 2022

The 13th edition of the Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFES) is slated to be held in February 2022. The announcement was made by the organizer of the festival, Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy.

The event was due to be held in April 2021 but was postponed due to the pandemic. A statement on the festival website read, “COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated the postponement of most of the film festivals across the globe, likewise 13th BIFFES is also postponed by a year compared to its previous editions (sic).”

The 12th edition was held from 26 February to 4 March 2020 in Bengaluru, where 220 films from more than 60 countries were showcased across 14 screens.

The statement further read, “Like its previous editions, competitive sections for the Asian, Indian and Kannada Cinema will be held with rewarding the winners with a cash prize. Meanwhile, the films which were selected under the various competition sections in 2021, will also be adjudicated in this edition of the festival separately, for the respective awards (sic).”

However, despite the situation with the Omicron variant of COVID-19 being unclear, the organizer is determined to hold a festival this year. As reported by The Hindu newspaper, Sunil Puranik, chairperson, Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy, said, “Whatever the situation, the festival will be held in February 2022.”

He added that his organization would work in accordance with the state government’s guidelines while holding the upcoming edition.