The film screenings are held on founder Vinayak’s terrace.
DH Photo
A film forum, set up in November 2021, has been gaining attention from film enthusiasts. Called Bangalore Film Forum, it is founded by Vinayak Bhat.
The 29-year-old Bhat is an assistant editor and cinematographer, who was inspired by his experiences visiting film clubs and societies. He decided to build a community of his own after noticing the struggles faced by many of these clubs during the pandemic.
The forum was initially a gathering of Vinayak's friends, who’d meet on his terrace for screenings. However, as time passed, his colleagues encouraged him to open the screenings to the public. In April 2022, the forum became accessible to a wider audience through Instagram and word of mouth.
Vinayak aims for it to be a platform that celebrates both classic and independent films. Older films, close to 100 years old, are given importance. “We now consider ourselves a repertory film club, which specialises in showing older films,” says Vinayak.
Screenings take place twice or thrice a month on weekends. Entry is free to make it accessible for everyone. While most screenings are still held on Vinayak's terrace, he has also collaborated with Jyoti Nivas College, Koramangala and KlayworkZ Barista in J P Nagar to expand the reach of the forum.
The forum covers a wide range of genres and themes, with films selected in advance by Vinayak. Suggestions are also taken from the audience. The films are categorised into contemporary world cinema, world cinema classics, contemporary Indian cinema, Indian cinema classics, underrated cinema, and Bollywood classics. After the film screenings, discussions take place to delve deeper into the movies and their themes. ‘Ghatashraddha’(1977), ‘Toni Erdmann’(2016), ‘The Sword of Doom’(1966) and ‘All the Beauty and The Bloodshed’(2022) are some of the films and documentaries previously screened by the forum.
As the forum's audience has grown, independent filmmakers are now being invited to screen their films and talk to the audience. Vinayak is now planning a special event to celebrate their 50th screening in September.