After taking a year's break due to the pandemic, the 13th edition of the Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFes) is scheduled to be held physically from March 3. The official venue for the screening of films is yet to be announced. The decision was taken at a meeting of the BIFFES Organising Committee, chaired by Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. The festival would be a 10-day event, Bommai said on Thursday, January 27.

"BIFF has received the recognition of Federation of International Film Producers Association. Thus, the film festival would have a global stature. It is a matter of pride that BIFFes is one of the 45 global level international film festivals," Bommai said.

"Kannada films had brought fame on numerous occasions in many countries. Best of the Kannada movies should be exhibited at the international film festival. BIFFes should become a model for other film festivals," Bommai added.

Social messages should be delivered through the film festival, he said. The Chief Minister also released the BIFFes logo on the occasion.

The 13 edition of BIFFes was to be held in March 2021. However, in view of the increasing number of COVID-19 infections, the festival had been indefinitely postponed. “There have been reports of a surge in COVID-19 pandemic infections across India, including Karnataka. In pursuance of the observations issued by the Health and Family Welfare services department, the government of Karnataka has ordered the postponement of the 13th edition of Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFes) indefinitely,” a social media post by BIFFes in March 2021 stated.

“The COVID-19 pandemic situation will be reviewed at an appropriate time and further updates on the 13th edition of BIFFes will follow accordingly,” the post added.

Just a month and a half after this announcement was made, Karnataka went into lockdown due to the massive surge in COVID-19 infections when the second wave struck the state in April 2021.