BENGALURU: The 14th edition of Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFEs), which will be held between March 23 and 30, will see around 300 films from about 55 countries being screened.
It will be inaugurated on March 23 at the grand steps of Vidhana Soudha, said revenue minister R Ashoka, who is also chairman of the organising committee. He said a popular actor and actress from Bollywood will be invited for the inaugural event, and the valedictory will be attended by governor Thaawarchand Gehlot. On Tuesday, chief minister Basavaraj Bommai unveiled the festival logo.
“The 14th edition of Biffes will be held at Orion Mall, and the films will be played on 11 screens. We have appealed to the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce to ensure the participation of all artists from the Kannada film industry,” Ashoka said at a press conference held after the committee meeting.
Films from across the world will compete in sections like Asian, Indian, Kannada and ‘cinema of the world’. The retrospectives will have three categories – world, Indian and Kannada cinema. The festival will see classics revisited in all three categories, and will also include ‘critics week’ and screening of popular Kannada films.
Ashoka said he has instructed the organisers to take meticulous steps to select the juries, considering the controversy over the selection process last year. He said he had suggested increasing the prize amount from the present Rs 3 lakh to at sleast Rs 5 lakh for the best film and added that the government has granted over Rs 4.4 crore for organising the festival as compared to over Rs 4.3 crore last year.
Source: The Times Of India