Bengaluru International Short Film Festival founder Anand Varadraj talks about short films in India

The 12th edition of the Oscar Academy Qualifying Bengaluru International Short Film Festival (BISFF) concluded last month with much fanfare. After having virtual screenings for the last two editions, this year’s festival was held in hybrid mode – having OTT streaming from August 4 to 14 and theatrical screenings from August 11 to 14. The festival showcased much-awaited films like Kiss (the directorial debut of acclaimed screenwriter Varun Grover) and had special sections like the Women in Cinema Collective to support women filmmakers. In an interview with Indulge, producer and founder-artistic director of BISFF Anand Varadaraj talks about his experience of working for BISFF, his favourite picks from this year’s lineup, and the past-present-future of short films in India.

You have been the artistic director of BISFF for 12 years now. What has your experience been like?
It’s been a very fulfilling experience. The process started as a small get-together to give valuable inputs to young filmmakers on their creative work. That has, now, grown to become one of India’s largest short film festivals. It’s heartwarming to see young filmmakers showcase their films, talk about their work enthusiastically, and hear comments from experts and audience with full attention. Also — unlike many (film) festivals — we screen the films on the big screen. It’s a joy for filmmakers to watch their films on the big screen – and their smile is a joy for us to see. This journey has given me immense satisfaction and I look forward to more such editions to come.

2010-’11 was the period in which short films had just started to grow popular in India. How much have the kinds of films coming to the festival changed in all these years?
In 2010, we had 30 films to screen. Today, we receive close to 3000 film submissions every year. The technological growth over time has helped filmmakers to create shorts films in abundance. Majority of the films have high quality work – be it editing, cinematography, sound design. The scripts of the films have also improved over the years. Earlier, filmmakers used to consider simple stories with less budget to reduce production expenses. Today, with the advent of technological improvement, they dream big and create wonderful visuals on the screen.

Did you observe any general trend in the Indian films submitted this year?
(In) the last two years, films were talking more about COVID-related themes like family, losing loved ones, loneliness, and similar things. But I think it will change in the next one or two years. We have also observed an increase in women filmmakers. We have a special section called Women in Cinema Collective to support women filmmakers.

What was that one film from the festival this year that has left an impression on you?
There were a few such films. For example, there was a film called Adopt a dog, which won the grand prize at the festival (in the International Competition section); it was a fantastic film on how relationships change when the surrounding changes. The other films were Murder Tongue (a sensitive story against the backdrop of a communal violence), Banana Republic (a wonderful comedy on inter religious marriage), Kiss (a beautiful film on how time is relative to different people), Alegalu Helida Kathe (the struggles of  a father to bring earphones to his daughter for an online class), and Last Order (the story of a food delivery person and how her last order changes the course of her life).

Apart from your work for BISFF, what else are you working on these days?
I am producing five short films. We announced some winners (of the competition) during the festival and now we will start the production of it. We hope to screen the films by January 2023.