The 16th edition of Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFes) will take place from March 1 to 8, 2025, under the theme of ‘Universal Peace in Diversity.’ This prestigious festival, organized by the Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy in collaboration with the Karnataka state government, highlights the rich tapestry of global cinema.

A significant highlight of BIFFes 2025 is the dedicated retrospective on the renowned Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieślowski, curated in partnership with the Polish Institute New Delhi. 

As a part of the retrospective entitled The poetics of Everyday Life, following films will be featured:

Camera Buff, 1979

Filip, a clerk in a small Polish town, buys an 8 mm movie camera to film the baby his wife is expecting. His manager takes an interest in it and commissions him to report on the 25th anniversary of the firm. The film is shown at an amateur film festival. Encouraged by his success Filip makes more films but runs into obstacles raised by his manager and his wife’s refusal to understand the change in his behavior.

A Short Film About Love, 1988

19-year-old Tomek spends his time spying on his neighbour Magda. She’s an artist in her mid-thirties, who appears to have everything / not least a constant stream of men at her beck and call. But when the two finally meet, they discover that they have a lot more in common than it would appear at first glance.

A Short Film About Killing, 1988

Warsaw. A taxi driver is washing his car. Jacek, a young, obtuse-looking peasant, is wandering around the town. Piotr, a law student, is preparing for his final exam. Their destinies become entwined when Jacek hails the taxi driver for a lift into the suburbs. There he brutally murders him with a rock. A Short Film About Killing considers societal violence in its many forms through the story of an idealistic young lawyer and the brutal murderer he is called to defend.

The Double Life of Veronique, 1991

Weronika, a Polish choir soprano, and her double, Véronique, a French music teacher. Though unknown to each other, the two women share an enigmatic, emotional bond, which Kieślowski details in gorgeous reflections, colors, and movements. Aided by Slawomir Idziak’s shimmering cinematography and Zbigniew Preisner’s haunting, operatic score, Kieślowski creates one of cinema’s most purely metaphysical works.

Three Colors: Bleu, 1993

Julie loses her composer husband and their child in a car crash and though devastated, she tries to make a new start, away from her country house and a would-be lover. But music still surrounds her and she uncovers unpleasant facts about her husband’s life. Slowly Julie learns to live again, as music and the gift to create it prove to be a healing force.

Three Colors: White, 1994

Karol, a Polish hairdresser, is divorced by his beautiful French wife Dominique and thrown onto the streets of Paris, with no money and no passport. All seems lost until he meets a fellow Pole who ingeniously smuggles Karol back to Warsaw in a suitcase. Once there, Karol is determined to take revenge against his ex-wife. He deals successfully on the black market until he has enough money to put his plan into action, but he hasn’t counted on love getting in the way of its perfect execution

Three Colors: Red, 1994

Irène Jacob is stunning as a young model who meets a retired judge by chance when she rescues his dog from a car accident. Jean-Louis Trintignant is utterly compelling as the embittered judge who spends his days eaves dropping on his neighbours’ phone conversations. Their initially fiery relationship wellows into a close friendship which ultimately liberates them both. A final twist of fate reveals the destinies of the characters from all three parts of the trilogy.

All the screenings will take place at the PVR INOX CINEMAS, Orion Mall, Bengaluru as per the following schedule:
Three Colours: Blue, 2nd of March at 3:20 pm/ Screen 11
Three Colours : White, 3rd of March at 5:40 pm/ Screen 11
Three Colours : Red, 4th of March at 2:45 pm/ Screen 11
Camera Buff, 5th of March at 2:30 pm/ Screen 11
The Double Life of Veronique, 6th of March at 5 pm/ Screen 11
A Short Film About Love, 7th of March at 6:10 pm/ Screen 3
A Short Film About Killing, 8th of March at 5:45 pm/ Screen 3

About the director:

Krzysztof Kieślowski, a celebrated Polish filmmaker, explored complex social and moral themes in his documentaries and feature films. After graduating from the Łódź Film School, he began with observational documentaries like HOSPITAL and FROM A NIGHT PORTER’S POINT OF VIEW. His acclaimed feature films include THE BRICKLAYER and THE DOUBLE LIFE OF VÉRONIQUE. The DEKALOG series, inspired by the Ten Commandments, and the THREE COLORS trilogy (BLUE, WHITE, RED) brought him international recognition. He received numerous awards, including the Cannes Jury Prize and an Academy Award nomination. He passed away in 1996, leaving a lasting impact on cinema.

For more information on Kieślowski’s retrospective at the 16th edition of the Bengaluru International Film Festival, please visit : https://biffes.org/films?category_id=11&subcategory_id=9