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About BIFFes

#BIFFes

FIAPF-accredited Bengaluru International film festival (BIFFes) is being organized by the Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy and the Department of Information and Public Relations, for the Government of Karnataka. The 17^th edition of BIFFes is to be held from 29^th January – 6^th February, 2026. Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka State in India, is an important center of international & Indian film culture in keeping with Karnataka’s glorious heritage and the State’s achievements in the fields of science, education, literature, fine arts, music and cinema.

We would like to recall here that our previous editions held in Bengaluru were resounding successes, with each edition involving screening of over 200 films, 400 shows across 13 screens from more than 60 countries, and witnessed by more than 12,000 delegates with 1 lakh footfalls, who liked and appreciated the quality of cinema presented over the years.

Like its previous editions, competitive sections for the Asian, Indian and Kannada Cinema will be held, with winners being rewarded with cash prizes during the closing ceremony of the film festival.

This year, in keeping with the vision of the Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Siddaramaiah and with a strong focus on women’s empowerment, the festival adopts a guiding theme inspired by the celebrated poem “Stree Yendare Ashte Saake..”, interpreted in English as “Woman As She Is,” by the National Poet Dr. G. S. Shivarudrappa, along with the tagline “Woman: Shared Sensibilities, A Collective Voice for Equality.” The film festival will also host various sessions for the academic interactions / discourse on different aspects of Filmmaking and Film Appreciation, through Seminars, Workshops, Masterclasses etc., for the benefit of filmmaking practitioners, discerning audiences and students. Through these academic events, BIFFes aims at enhancing the knowledge and understanding of the film art form, medium and market, and exploring the historical milestones, features and trends in contemporary filmmaking.

We invite the filmmakers, film fraternity, film critics, film buffs, students, film marketing, distribution and exhibitor agencies to participate in the upcoming 17^th BIFFes. We sincerely hope that the film lovers will utilize this opportunity to register as Delegates and have a memorable cinematic experience by watching the festival films and also join us for the film academic events during the weeklong film festival days.