BIFFes Creative Director N. Vidyashankar: “It is necessary to look at cinema with the background of history of science as well along with aesthetics of art”

By Jyothi Venkatesh

N. Vidyashankar, the creative director of the 15th Bengaluru International Film Festival tells senior film journalist Jyothi Venkatesh that there are many factors that one must take into consideration when selecting or judging a film for a film festival.

What does the Bengaluru International Film Festival –BIFFES mean to you?

Films, for me, have been a journey. BIFFES is one of the facilitators for this journey, I would say. Cinema has been a revelation for me to understand this world, and on that note, BIFFES has played a very vital role in making me know the world around me better!

What is it that you look forward to next year in BIFFES 2025?

Like any viewer, I look forward to the films! Cinema is different from other fields of media because of the simple fact that we see the happenings directly. It gives us a whole new experience of the world around us. A French film can be about a family set in Paris, and you may find the streets portrayed in the film appealing. There are different things that different people look for in films, and it all depends on the eyes that see. I look forward to the various experiences that captivate the diverse audience through films!

What is it that you look for in a “good” film?

Cultural, social, intellectual, aesthetic contexts are important for every art form, do you agree with me on that? Film is an art. Therefore, we select films that tick one or more of the four boxes. I believe classifying films into categories of good or bad only narrows the perspective. There are many factors that one must take into consideration when judging a film. All communication theories are based on two phenomena, coding and decoding. We look for that in films, keeping the four points I mentioned earlier and work. We see through many pairs of eyes, and not just one.

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Though you are the Creative Director of the festival, you still were part of the selection committee of film festivals in Pune and Kerala.

Yes. I enjoy watching films and make it a point to go to festivals at Pune, Kerala and Cannes every year and when I am asked to be the Chairman of the selection committee, I do not decline

How do you function as the Creative Director of Bengaluru International Film Festival year after year?

I keep track of films which are being showcased at various International film festivals year after year and decide the top pick and choose the best out of the lot. Unlike other arts, most of which evolved on account of the human urge to express, Cinema is a product of scientific innovation. Only later its possibility to be a tool of personal expression and artistic endeavour emerged. It is therefore necessary to look at cinema with the background of history of science as well along with aesthetics of art.

How many films were showcased during the current edition of the festival this year?

As many as 250 films, 180 from abroad as well as 60 to 70 Indian films from various parts of the country were showcased this year during the 15^th Bengaluru International Film Festival this year, including various little known Indian languages in different dialects including Tulu and Kodava from all over the country.

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In what way is your festival similar to the festivals in Kerala and West Bengal?

Like the governments of Kerala and West Bengal, our film festival is also being organised diligently year after year by the government of Karnataka.

What was the highlight of the festival this year?

Kannada films were in focus this year, marking 90 years of the industry and 50 years of the state of Karnataka, while the Country Focus was on German films.

Although yours is a reputed international film festival, how come there was no Telugu or Hindi film in this year’s festival, with the exception of a sole Hindi film, Sunil Sukhtankar’s Outhouse?

You see, this year we received only 320 films in various Indian languages and Outhouse was the only Hindi film which we selected out of the submitted films.