The curtains came down on the 9th edition of Bengaluru International Film Festival (Biffes) at a dazzling event held against the backdrop of an illuminated Mysuru palace on Thursday.

Mysuru co-hosted Biffes that featured over 180 Indian and foreign films. While many Sandalwood stars gave the closing ceremony a miss, only a few film-makers from the industry attended. The event saw participation of some foreign film-makers.

Governor Vajubhai R. Vala presented the awards to the best films listed under various competitions.

In attendence

H.C. Mahadevappa, Minister in charge of Mysuru district; M. Lakshminarayan, Principal Secretary, Information and Public Relations and PWD; N.R. Vishukumar, Director, Department of Information and Public Relations; S.V. Rajendra Singh Babu, Chairman, Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy; M.K. Somashekar, MLA; Ravi Kumar, Mayor; and D. Randeep, Deputy Commissioner, were present.

The films were judged by a jury comprising eminent film-makers from India and abroad. A Father’s Will, a film from Kyrgyzstan, won the best film in the Asian cinema competition. The award carried a cash prize of $10,000 and a citation.

This year, the segment Award for Popular Entertainment Kannada cinema was added. Kotigobba-2 bagged the first prize while Jaggudada and Dodmane Huduga received the second and third prizes respectively.

Vala: Waive tax on all language films

Mr. Vala said movies in all languages should get entertainment tax exemption like Kannada films in the State.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the 9th edition of the Bengaluru International Film Festival (Biffes), Mr. Vala also suggested giving subsidy of ₹50 lakh each to the best three Kannada films to promote cinema and its making.

He said films highlight so many characteristics such as art, culture, literature and so on. “Moreover, film-makers work really hard and I personally witnessed this while watching the shooting of Aamir Khan-starrer Lagaan in Gujarat,” Mr. Vala said. He called upon people to watch and encourage films.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Shankar Bennur / Mysuru – February 10th, 2017