BENGALURU: The inaugural of the 9th edition of Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFes) on Thursday, though a low key affair, had a couple of attractions. For the first time, the event was held in the heart of the city -- in front of Vidhana Soudha — and a video mapping the history of Kannada film, art and culture of Karnataka were projected on the majestic pillars of the legislature building.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who recollected his younger days, said he watched Rajkumar’s film ‘Bangarada Manushya’ five times. “These days, time does not permit me. But, I recently managed to watch ‘Thithi’, which I felt was unique,” he said. “Those days, there were only a handful of actors who did good films. But today we have hundreds of actors entering the industry, but not many good films. I will do my best for the development of Kannada film industry, but I request filmmakers to come up with good films,” he said.
Speaking at the inauguration, Egyptian filmmaker Hala Khalil, who is on her third visit to India, said she finds a lot in common between India and Egypt. “I feel I am at home.”
Actor Puneeth Rajkumar said that his connection with the International Film Festival started as a child artiste. “My first introduction to the festival was in 1984 when my film ‘Bettada Hoovu’ was screened and since then I have attended a few film festivals.
Regarding Kannada films, the trends keep changing each year and we are going through the best years in Kannada film industry. We had some wonderful films like ‘Thithi’, ‘Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu’, ‘U-Turn’ and ‘Rama Rama Re’ to name a few.”
The event was followed with the screening of the inaugural film a La Vache (One Man and his Cow).