The 11th edition of Bengaluru International Film Festival (Biffes), besides offering a line up of 200-plus films from more than 60 countries, is creating an opportunity for students of cinema to learn and understand the art with creative minds in Indian and world cinema.
There is a line up of workshops, seminars and master classes by film personalities including cinematographers, script advisers, filmmakers and technicians, presenting a crash course of sorts for students of cinema.
To begin with, there will be an interaction with Bollywood filmmaker Rahul Ravail, who has 17 films to his credit including Love Story, Betaab, Arjun, Dacait. He headed the jury of Indian Panorama at the 49th International Film Festival of India, Goa, 2018.
Visual effects designer, coordinator and supervisor, Michael Maurissens, who is known for his works in Dangal, Bajirao Mastani, Rajneeti, Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela will conduct a master class on visual effects in regional films and their importance and effectiveness.
With Over The Top (OTT) platforms being all the rage, there will be a discussion on the challenges and opportunities being extended by OTT. The crew of KGF, the blockbuster film, will interact with people. Besides the director, director of cinematography Bhuvan Gowda and producer Vijay Kirangandur will be part of the discussion.
Hitaishini, a web magazine aimed at achieving constitutionally accorded rights of equality will hold a workshop of gender sensitivity. Journalist and writer R. Poornima is coordinating this session.
Rafey Mehmood, Director of Photography (DoP) for films such as Mithya, Raghu Romeo and Ankhon Dekhi, and known for training students in IMAX Large Screen film format in Los Angeles, will deliver the V.K. Murthy Memorial Lecture.
International film advisers including Mark Wood, Elena Larionova, Akshay Rathe and others will discuss the possibilities of co-production and multi-lingual productions. Claire Dobin, Australian script-adviser and editor will hold a screenwriting workshop in collaboration with Government of Victoria, Australia.
Another important event will be the conversation with Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Zanussi, who is regarded a master craftsman in world cinema.