Oscar-accredited Bengaluru International Short Film Festival kicks off today in hybrid mode

The 12thedition of the Bengaluru International Short Film Festival started today in hybrid mode. From August 4 to 14, enthusiasts can log on to www.bisff.in and enjoy a plethora of short films from different categories, while the offline screenings will be held at the theatres at the Suchitra Film Society and Max Mueller Bhavan in the city between August 11 and 14. Once registered for the festival, the movies can be viewed anytime throughout the 10 days. This year the festival is dedicated to Satyajit Ray for his centenary in 2022, with the poster as a homage to his legacy, depicting the most memorable pose from Pather Panchali.

Created as a platform for young and amateur filmmakers, where they can screen their shorts to discerning audiences and, more importantly, find constructive and critical feedback from achievers in the field, BISFF has come a long way in identifying and nurturing young filmmakers and providing a platform for them to showcase their talent. In 2020, the festival was approved as an Oscar® Academy Qualifying Festival for short films. The winning short films in the International and Indian Competition sections of BISFF 2020 are automatically eligible for consideration in the Live Action Short Film Category of the Academy Awards®, without a standard theatrical run, provided the film complies with stringent Academy rules.

This year, BISFF received 3,000 plus submissions from across 90 countries, out of which 23% are Women filmmakers. There is a special competition section for women filmmakers this time around. Around 250 films have been shortlisted for the festival screening. The jury includes German cinematographer Emil Kalus, Iranian filmmaker Armyn Naderi, Finnish filmmaker and festival director Jukka-Pekka Laakso, Indian filmmakers Manju Bohra, Siddharth Siva, Hemanth M Rao, Priya Belliappa, actor Aniruddha Jatkar, and cinematographer Preetha Jayaram, among others.