Bengaluru: The much-awaited 16th Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFes) 2025 will kick off at 5pm Saturday in front of Vidhana Soudha.
The festival will be inaugurated by chief minister Siddaramaiah, with deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar as chief guest. Kannada actor Shivarajkumar will also be present to release five cinema-related books published by Karnataka Film Academy, along with the festival manual.
International film festival ambassador Kishore Kumar G, Polish Institute director Malgorzta Wejsis Golebiak and other prominent film personalities will be present on the occasion.
Starting March 2, the festival will see the screening of over 200 films (400 shows) from 60 countries at 15 screening venues, including Orion Mall, Kalavidara Sangha, Dr Rajkumar Bhavan and Suchitra Film Society. The theme for this year’s edition is ‘Universal Peace in Diversity’.
With over 3,000 delegates already registered, the excitement among film buffs is palpable, particularly with Day 1 alone seeing a record-breaking 500 registrations.
With an impressive line-up of films, panel discussions and masterclasses, BIFFes is poised to offer a rich cinematic experience, bringing together industry experts, filmmakers and cinephiles for discussions, exclusive screenings and a grand celebration of global and Kannada cinema.