BIFF enthusiasts found that no movie was to be screened on Thursday, the day of inauguration of the film festival.
Darshan came all the way from Jayanagar to the Orion Mall in Rajajinagar to start watching films at the Bengaluru International Film Festival only to be told to come back the next day. It wasn’t that he got the date wrong either.
“I had seen an advertisement in the newspaper stating that the screening was starting the same day as the inauguration,” he said, winding his way out of the mall.
The posters at the venue say that the screening will start from March 23. However, schedule on the BIFF website says screening will start from March 24.
Shayam, the marketing manager at PVR, where the films are going to be screened did not want to be involved in the matter. “The situation was simply a matter of miscommunication between the event organizers and the management team. PVR had not promoted the festival in any way and we are just providing a venue for the screenings,” he said.
The display banners show that the inauguration of the event was on March 23, 2023.
Confusion also prevailed on the issue of passes for the festival.
Vikrant, another visitor, was informed that registration online was necessary in order to obtain a pass to watch the screening. He said, “The ticket counter personnel themselves seemed unaware of the procedure for booking passes.”
An official at BIFF stated that in order to obtain passes for the screenings, individuals needed to register beforehand on the festival’s website. The official said, “People don’t check the website for information and then complain about miscommunication. Those who had not registered in advance could still try to obtain daily passes by going to the venues on Monday and inquiring, though getting passes like this would depend on luck.”
According to the official, the priority is online booking. However, if all seats are not taken through online booking, customers can reserve seats in person at the venue.
The 14th edition of BIFF is scheduled to take place from March 23 to March 30, 2023. The registration fee for general film enthusiasts is Rs 800; while for film society members, film fraternity members, and students it is Rs 400.
