The 13th edition of BISFF August 3rd – 13th, 2023
The Bengaluru International Short Film Festival (BISFF), India’s only Oscar Accredited film festival is all set for its 13th edition which will be held between August 3rd – 13th, 2023. This year BISFF will be in a hybrid format i.e Online screenings from Aug 3-13, 2023,
Screenings in Theatre at Suchitra and Goethe Institut Max Mueller Bhavan from Aug 10-13, 2023.
Enthusiasts can log into www.bisff.in and enjoy a plethora of short films from different categories. Once registered the films are available for viewing all through the 10 days, the festival team continues its commitment to make cinema accessible.
Created as a platform for young and amateur filmmakers, where they could 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.
Every year, BISFF has been including new categories to the annual festival and this year too, it brings an exciting category of short films to all its audience:
| Competition Sections | Juries |
| International Competition | 1. Sumana Kittur – Film Director2. Alejandro Gonzalez – Festival Director3. Diego Faraone – International Critic |
| Indian Competition | 1. Chaitanya Hegde – Tulsea – Founder2. Sruthi Hariharan – Actor3. Amit Masurkar – Film Director |
| Karnataka Competition | 1. Rajendra Singh Babu – Film Director & Producer2. Champa Shetty – Film Director3. Mandya Ramesh – Actor, Director |
| Let’s Include | 1. Milind Rau – Film Director2. Vijay Manjunath |
| Animation | 1. Prajwal Vas – VFX Expert2. Vinod Gowda – Creative director3. Jasbinder Singh – Creative Head, 2D and Stop motion |
| Women in Cinema Collective | 1. Meghana Raj – Actor2. Ajith Hande – Actor3. Geetha Gurappa – Sound Designer |
Our competition section, Women in Cinema Collective is a collection of films made by women filmmakers.
BISFF with the collaboration of Goethe Institut Bangalore produced five short films. The films scripts were selected from a competition and funded to make the movies.
Festival Discussions and Workshops:
● VFX, Animation in the new AI World – A discussion with experts Jasbinder Singh, Prajwal Vas and Vinod.
● Script, Screenplay and Beyond – Understanding the world of Writing for the screen. On the Panel – Chaitanya Hegde, Abhishek Iyengar, Pooja Sudhir, Moderated by Prakash Belawadi
● The Future is Female – A discussion of Cinema with a Women’s viewpoint. On the Panel – Meghana Raj, Geetha Gurappa, Sumana Kittur, Champa Shetty, Moderated by Vasanti Hariprakash
● Masterclass by Amit Masurkar
● Masterclass on Thinking Music for Cinema by Aprajit Siris
● Networking event for filmmakers
Festival Team
Prakash Belawadi, Actor, Director and Mentor, BISFF, said, “I’m so happy that the organising team by Anand Varadaraj has put together a programme that includes so many talented filmmakers who have dared to be different among the juries and master classes. Will look forward to a great festival at Suchitra, where it all began.”
Anand Varadaraj, Festival Director, BISFF, commented, “BISFF is officially a teenager. It has been a growth journey of joys and pains, but the love of cinema keeps us all on the path. For an indie film festival to survive and thrive despite the pandemic where so many others have not been able to, makes me hopeful that the future of cinema is bright!
While we pivoted to the online version during the pandemic; we saw first-hand how it made the festival inclusive and gave it a wider reach. So with the knowledge of past success, this year too technology aids us in a hybrid festival.
What is particularly encouraging is that many of the winners at BISFF are making it to the Oscar shortlists, so we are definitely doing something right here!
