Oscar-Qualifying Bengaluru International Short Film Festival Expands to 10 Arenas, Adds AI and Dance Competitions (EXCLUSIVE)

The Bengaluru International Short Film Festival (BISFF) has expanded its 16th edition to 10 competition arenas, adding new categories for AI-made films and screendance, and received a record 3,340 submissions from over 100 countries. The festival, which expects more than 5,000 delegates and 1,000-plus filmmakers, will feature the largest lineup in its history, with more than 30 titles per category. Founder and artistic director Anand Varadaraj said the selection process was the most demanding he has experienced, reflecting the exceptional quality of submissions.

India’s Oscar-qualifying Bengaluru International Short Film Festival https://variety.com/t/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. Popular on Variety 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.” This year’s edition centers on the theme “ACT,” structured around three imperatives – Do, Perform and Behave. Every competition category this year features more than 30 titles from India and abroad – the largest lineup in the festival’s history, organizers said. Varadaraj said: “The quality of the films this year has been exceptional. As a curator, this has been the most demanding selection process I’ve experienced. We revisited the shortlist several times to ensure every film was evaluated fairly and that the final programme reflects the best work submitted. I hope audiences will enjoy discovering these films as much as we enjoyed bringing them together.” The international competition will bring some 28 films to India for the first time, with highlights including “La Ligne de Vie The Lifeline ” Hugo Becker, France , “Close Your Eyes Hind” Amir Zaza, Netherlands , “I Gaze at the Sky” Alexandra Strunin, Poland , “The Written Hour” Coke Arijo, Spain and “Round and Round” Hayato Otogi, Japan . The section will be judged by Maike Hohne, an artistic director based in Hamburg, Germany; Indian filmmaker Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni; and international film critic Christopher Dalton. More than 20 of the selected Indian titles will premiere publicly at BISFF for the first time, with highlights including “Hudke Ki Pyaang Pyaang, Dhol Ki Ghamaika” Arun N. Fulara , “Small Clouds” Shubham Sumit , “Aasmani” Sayani Gupta , “Bandini” Deepti Chawla , “Mehta & Co.” Rohit Sen and “Shadows Of The Moonless Nights” Mehar Malhotra , which was selected for La Cinef at Cannes earlier this year. The Indian jury includes Sridhar Rangayan, Sulakhyana Baruah and Devanshu Singh. The new AI Films Competition will showcase work exploring AI’s growing role in shaping how stories are conceived and made, raising questions around authorship and the future of filmmaking, organizers said. Beyond screenings, BISFF 2026 will host three industry pillars: the Discovery Film Market with Producer Bazaar, connecting more than 100 filmmakers with more than 50 buyers, distributors, broadcasters, OTT platforms and financiers; the Echoes Film School Conference, presented in partnership with RV University; and a series of panels, workshops and masterclasses. That slate has previously featured Shoojit Sircar, Sriram Raghavan, Naseeruddin Shah and Mahesh Narayanan. Industry conversations this year include sessions titled “New Pathways for Global Distribution” and “Vertical Cinema: The Next Screen?,” focused on emerging distribution models and mobile-first viewing habits. BISFF draws more than 5,000 delegates annually and generates more than 300,000 website hits per year, according to the festival. The festival runs Aug. 14-16, with an online component from August 6-16. The in-person festival will be held across venues including Suchitra Film Society, RV University, LitSchool, Knowledgium Academy, Bangalore International Centre, Indian Heritage Academy, Alliance Française and Goethe Institut – Max Muellar Bhavan. FULL LIST OF SELECTED FILMS INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION “Ban Dal Half-Moon ” – Hae-Sup Sin Switzerland “The Wind in Ash” – Sun Kun China “Hai Davai” – Vlad Gradescu Moldova “Heaven on Earth” – Helena Bodlovic Croatia “The Written Hour” – Coke Arijo Spain “Max” – Jaime Alonso de Linaje Spain “Bus” – Andre Balbuena Peru “Choice” – Marko Crnogorski North Macedonia “Yonne” – Julietta Korbel, Yan Ciszewski Switzerland “The Bridge” – Giacomo Bendotti Italy “Relay” – Bárbara Fernández, David Mendizábal Spain “The Pearl Comb” – Ali Cook United Kingdom “Unexpected Connections” – Oscar Toribio Spain “Ishaq” – Tuna Kaptan Germany, Iraq “The Unknown Filmmaker” – Hemant Gaba India, South Korea, United States “When the Tiger Roars” – Lam Can-zhao China, Malaysia, Switzerland “Please Hold” – Solal Bouloudnine France “I Gaze at the Sky” – Alexandra Strunin Poland “Echoes Beneath the Hill” – Aime Octave Belgium “The Final Appeal” – Arthur Dupont de la Motte France “The Spectacle” – Bálint Kenyeres France, Hungary “The Circus Lion” – Tigran Tovmasian Australia “Close Your Eyes Hind” – Amir Zaza Netherlands “Round and Round” – Hayato Otogi Japan “The Corkscrew” – Torfinn Iversen Norway “The Veil” – Gabriel Motta Brazil “La Ligne de Vie The Lifeline ” – Hugo Becker France “Swimmer Girl” – Anıl Güldoğan Türkiye “Noah” – Murtadha Harz Al Yasry Iraq “See Your Eyes” – JiWon Song South Korea “Right Now Wrong Then” – Zhuang Zhou China “Butcher’s Stain” – Meyer Levinson-Blount Israel INDIAN COMPETITION “Tulsi” – Om Chaphekar Marathi “Deva Aaj Pan Vhay” – Amol Jalandhar Jadhav Marathi “The Alter Echo” – Santanu Biswas Bengali “Toy Gun” – Parshuram Thingnam Manipuri “Dakatshumari 2025” – Soumik Maitra Bengali “A Beautiful Night in Amusement Park” – Ganae Ramesh Tamil “Abja and Her Pickled Eggs” – Rita Heer Hindi “The Leopard” – Mukti Krishan Marathi “As You Like It” – Mausam Aggarwal English, Hindi, Marathi “A Virtuous Woman” – Ajay Kishor Shaw No dialogue “From Nowhere” – Shomik Basuray Chinese “Sari Sarjom” – Mansingh Baskey English, Hindi, Other “Shadows Of The Moonless Nights” – Mehar Malhotra Hindi, Marathi, Panjabi “Small Clouds” – Shubham Sumit Hindi “Barber of the Gods” – Sushant Nagpal Hindi “Mehta & Co.” – Rohit Sen Hindi, Kannada, Rajasthani “Nipaniya” – Anamika Pal Hindi “The Pact” – Lakshmi R Iyer Hindi “Bandini Absent Ties ” – Deepti Chawla Assamese, English, Hindi, Tamil “Delivery” – Sreeram Pattathil Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi “Journey” – Manoj Bhumananda Telugu “Gudgudi Giggles ” – Manisha Kishor Makwana Hindi “That’s a Wrap” – Sunny Hinduja, Shinjini Raval English, Hindi “Guest for a Day” – Rohit Patidar Hindi “A Story Carved on a Tree” – Sainath Laxman Ganuwad Marathi “Abracadabra” – Amay Mehrishi English, Hindi “A Very Normal Day of Wonders” – Rima Mathew Malayalam “Merke Udhikkum Sooriyan / The Sun Rises in the West ” – Aadhan Vadivel Tamil “Nyingma.. Through Her Eyes” – Liton Paul Tibetan “Aasmani” – Sayani Gupta English, Hindi “The Photograph” – Priya Sridhar “Getar Hero” – Teddy Stern Hindi “Jāti” – Sarthwik Bollu Telugu “Hudke Ki Pyaang Pyaang, Dhol Ki Ghamaika…” – Arun N. Fulara Hindi “We Were Here” – Pranav Bhasin English, Hindi “Switch Off” – Sandeep Francis Malayalam