The organisers of the Bengaluru International Short Film Festival (BISFF), now in its ninth edition, received over 3,000 entries from all over the globe. “We received movies from countries such as Ghana, Georgia and Uzbekistan,” says festival director Anand Varadaraj, adding, “But while selecting the movies, our focus this year has been on strong scripts.” The festival screens movies from 50 countries in more than 65 languages, and will have panel discussions and masterclasses.
The short movies are in categories such as Animation, International, Indian and Karnataka, Oscar Shorts (this year’s entries to the Academy Awards) and Goethe Short Export (German short films). From Karnataka, some titles are Lacchavva by Jai Shankar, Plan B by Chirag Manjushankar and Silk Board by Santhosh G. The international movies include Pain Noir, a French animated movie, silent movie No Gravity, Spanish movie The Boy Who Wanted To Fly and Arabic film The Barber.
When it comes to genres, Anand says he has seen a rise in horror movies. “Even on Netflix and Hollywood, horror is everywhere. In fact, we got so many horror entries, that next year, we might even add a horror category,” he tells us. At the event, also expect panel discussions and workshops on topics such as researching scripts and how to convert a script to visual imagery.
The common thread that runs between all the movies, Anand shares, is that they all explore relationships. “Even if they tackle topics such as climate change or pollution, they all do it through the angle of human relationships,” he signs off.
Rs. 400 upwards.
August 15 - 18. At Suchitra Film Society, Bangalore International Centre and Goethe Institut
anagha@newindianexpress.com @anaghzzz