Even though tickets for Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFES) were booked online, participants still had to pick up their passes at the venue, which led to long queues.
Scores of movie buffs in Bengaluru turned up early at the Orion Mall in Rajajinagar on Thursday to pick up their passes for the 12th edition of the Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFES). The screening of the first movie, Iranian movie The Charcoal, began at 9.20 am. The participants had registered their tickets online days before the film festival began and had arrived early to collect these passes from the organisers at the venue. While long queues are not uncommon at film festivals, the queue on the first day of movie screening BIFFES at this venue was so long, with many claiming they missed the movies they had planned to watch. Many complained that they had to wait for more than 30 minutes to get passes, without which they could not enter the screening halls. Some of them whom TNM spoke to said took leave from work to attend the festival. "I waited for 45 minutes in the queue to get my pass. Finally, I got it around 12 pm, after the crowd began to abate. I needed a break from work, and took the entire week off," said Shruti, one of the participants who were attending the film festival. There were also senior citizens in attendance at the film festival. Unlike the previous editions, this year, there was no dedicated line for senior citizens. "I have been coming to the film festival for several years. I never had to go without the printed schedule. Those with smartphones can show the tickets on their smartphones, but I am an old man now and can't use them," said Ravikumar, one of the participants at the festival who is in his late 60s. Following the growing discontent, the organisers quickly printed a few passes and gave it out to people waiting in the queue. In the previous editions, both online and in-person registrations were allowed. This year, there was no system of physical booking. Even though tickets were booked online, participants still had to pick up their passes at the venue. According to the organisers, there were a total of 11,000 people registered for the film festival this year. In this scenario, the organisers said they thought issuing daily passes would be logistically difficult, as the number of seats to accommodate participants were less. The Orion Mall has 11 screens, with seats ranging from 48 to 323 (maixmum). "We chose Navarang Theatre (one of the four venues) as it has more seats. That is why films that have a huge public demand are being screened here,” said Suneel Puranaik, Chairperson of the film festival. “Since Monday is a weekday, we will consider selling daily passes, if the footfall is less that day," he added. Puranaik, while addressing the media, also said that the film festival was organised within 48 days of its notification. "Usually, such big festivals take up to a year to organise. However, we were able to quickly put together the festival, including selecting the 220 films for the festival to the jury. However, we have to admit that we faced a lot of problems with the logistical side of things." Despite the challenges, he added, he ensured that they would not compromise on the quality of the content. “We have done an India premiere for 40 different foreign films. When we see the crowds milling around, and the chaos, we really feel like it is a successful festival." Many regular participants had pointed out that every year the festival faces the same logistical issues, even 12 years since beginning the festival, including the issuance of passes and schedules. "All these years, there were no specific staff or officers to organise the festivals. Private organisations undertook the work,” said Suneel, adding that he hopes to change the system in the future.
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