Bengaluru :Bollywood actor and Rajya Sabha MP Jaya Bachchan will inaugurate the eighth Bengaluru International Film Festival here on January 28.
The inaugural will be held in front of Vidhana Soudha (state secretariat) and Mysore Palace will play host to the closing ceremony on February 5.
“Jaya Bachchan will inaugurate the eighth BIFFES on January 28 which will culminate on February 5,” Karnataka Information Minister Roshan Baig told reporters here.
The fest will begin with the screening of award winning Kannada movie ‘Thithi’ directed by Raam Reddy, he said.
Reddy is the grandson of the first CM, K C Reddy.
Baig said the event would be more inclusive this time with greater participation from the Kannada and other Indian film industries.
The chief guests would be Oscar-winning lyricist Gulzar, Hollywood and Bengali filmmakers Ashok Amritraj and Aparna Sen and they will also interact with the audience.
Other guests to grace the occasion would be “Bajirao Mastani” director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Telugu film star D Venkatesh and filmmaker Maniratnam.
Cultural events will include dance recitals by actress Shobana and Nirupama Rajendra.
Marathi stage artiste and Bollywood star Nana Patekar may attend the event, S V Rajendra Singh Babu, who heads the 14-member committee, said.
“We have also invited Nana Patekar. The actor told us he would attend the event if gets time off from his shooting schedule,” he added.
The film fest will feature theme section, special theme section, academic activities and exhibitions among other related sections.
Films of world renowned filmmakers like Istvan Szabo from Hungary, Jafer Panahi (Iran), Jia Zhang Ke (China), Hou Hsiao-Hsien (Japan), Emin Alper (Turkey), Jacques Audiard (France), Christian Petzold (Germany), Nanni Moretti (Italy) and others will be screened in the event.
A total of 172 films from 50 countries will be shown during the festival. In the competition section, Asian, Indian and Kannada films will be screened.
There would also be an additional International Jury for Kannada Cinema which, culminating in a special NETPAC award. Oscar winning Sound Designer Resul Pookutty will conduct a workshop on Sound Design.
The closing ceremony and award distribution will be held on February 4 at Mysore.
PTI