India’s Oscar-qualifying Bengaluru International Short Film Festival (BISFF) has expanded its competition to 10 arenas of cinema for its 16th edition, adding new categories for AI-made films and screendance.
BISFF received a record 3,340 submissions this year from more than 100 countries, according to organizers. Of those, 1,726 came from international entries, 756 from India, 306 from Karnataka, 284 in animation and 118 each in the queer, AI film and screendance categories. The festival expects more than 5,000 delegates and 1,000-plus filmmakers and artists.
The new sections include AI (Machine Made Movies), open to films created entirely or partially using AI tools, and Dancing Lens, a competition for screendance works that treat choreography and cinematography as inseparable. Three sections – International, Indian and Animation – remain Oscar-qualifying.
Anand Varadaraj, founder and artistic director of BISFF, said: “Sixteen years ago, BISFF was a small room of filmmakers and curators who thought young talent deserved a real platform to show early work and get serious feedback. We started with 30 films. Now we get 3,000 plus, and alumni go on to win Oscars. That’s the power of taking short films seriously. This edition gathers everyone who knows that the most vital cinema today lives in under thirty minutes.”
