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

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. 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)