In a fast-shrinking world, small is big. The ongoing Bengaluru International Short Film Festival is an example of the rising demand for short films. Since 2010, the festival has been serving an audience of cinephiles and filmmakers. The pandemic forced them to shift to the online medium with surprising results. Anand Varadaraj, founder and director of the festival says, “In 2021, we had 2,00,000 hits on the first day.” This led to the recognition of the online platform as an effective means to reach audiences.

This year, the festival that kicked off yesterday, will continue till August 14 in a hybrid format that includes the theatrical screenings, and online access for audiences in the country. With the categories of international and national section, the entries span the range of Indian languages.