The 23rd Dhaka International Film Festival is starting on Saturday with 220 films from 75 countries. The festival is being organized by Rainbow Film Society under the slogan ‘Aesthetic Films, Contemplative Audience, Enlightened Society’.
It was announced at a press conference held at Dhaka Club on Thursday afternoon that Information and Broadcasting Advisor Md. Nahid Islam will be present as the chief guest at the opening ceremony of the festival at the main auditorium of the National Museum at 4 pm on Saturday. The festival will end on January 19.
A press conference was organized at Dhaka Club this Thursday afternoon
A press conference was organized at Dhaka Club this Thursday afternoonPhoto: Courtesy of the organizers
The festival will screen 220 full-length and short films from 75 countries in the Asian Competition Section, Retrospective Section, Bangladesh Panorama, Wide Angle, Cinema of the World, Children’s Film, Spiritual Film, Short and Independent Film and Women’s Film Section.
Films will be screened in several auditoriums including the main auditorium of the National Museum and the Poet Sufia Kamal Auditorium, the National Art Gallery of the Shilpakala Academy, the Alliance Française Auditorium. Viewers will be able to enjoy local and foreign films free of charge.
The opening ceremony will be performed by Jolgaan. The opening film will be the Chinese film ‘Moon Man’ by director Qiu Zhang. This year, the country focus of the festival will be China.
The opening ceremony will be presided over by Jalal Ahmed, Chairman of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission and Executive Member of the Festival Committee.
The 23rd Dhaka International Film Festival begins on Saturday with 220 films from 75 countries
The 23rd Dhaka International Film Festival begins on Saturday with 220 films from 75 countries. Festival director Ahmed Mujtaba Jamal said in a written statement at the press conference, “This festival has not only succeeded in creating a platform for young and promising filmmakers to connect with the international film industry, but also has strengthened the similar film industry of Bangladesh. The main goal of the festival is to present new films by renowned filmmakers from all over the world to movie lovers in this international festival.”
As part of the festival, the ’11th International Women Filmmakers Conference’ will be held from January 12 to 13. Parveen Hasan, Vice Chancellor of Central Women’s University, will be present as the chief guest at the conference at 9:30 am on Sunday. The festival’s chairperson Kishwar Kamal will preside. ActionAid Bangladesh Country Director Farah Kabir and Chinese film director and writer Zhang Yudi will be special guests.
There will be several special exhibitions in memory of the martyrs of the July-August 2024 mass uprising.
The masterclass will be held for the third time on January 17-18. Chinese writer and film director Zhang Yudi; Serbian professor Dragan Milinkovic; Norwegian film producer and distributor Augie Hofert and Bangladeshi cinematographer Rashed Zaman will speak at the masterclass at the National Museum’s Cineplex auditorium. Interested individuals can participate in the masterclass by registering.
The Dhaka International Film Festival will close on January 19. Cultural Advisor Mustafa Sarwar Farooqui will be the chief guest on the closing day.
Festival chairperson Kishwar Kamal, festival director Ahmed Mujtaba Jamal, Asian Film Competition jury member Ilias Kanchan, FIPRESCI jury member Sadia Khalid, festival committee executive member Jalal Ahmed, journalist Rafiquzzaman, film critic Bidhan Ribeiro and many others spoke at the press conference.
