The 14th edition of Dhaka International Film Festival kicks-off today at the National Museum in Shahbagh in the capital. The programme schedule of the festival was revealed yesterday afternoon during a press conference held by Rainbow Film Society at Dhaka Club.
Hasanul Haq Inu, Information Minister, will be the chief guest at the inauguration while Shahriar Alam, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, will preside over the session. Renowned Norwegian filmmaker Anja Breien and Syrian filmmaker Mohamed Malas will light the candle for inauguration.
The eight-day long festival will be opened with the Bangladeshi film “Under Construction” by Rubaiyat Hossain.
Speaking at the press conference, festival director Ahmed Mustaba Zamal revealed that films from 60 different countries will be exhibited at the fest that ends on January 22. The theme of this year’s festival is “Better Film, Better Audience, Better Society.”
Approximately 170 films from around the world will be screened in different categories including a competition section for Asian and Australian cinemas. The other categories include Retrospective, Cinema of the World, Children’s Film, Women Filmmakers, Short and Independent Films Section, Nordic Film Session and Spiritual Films Section.
Among the highlights of this year’s biennial is the “2nd International Conference on Women in Cinema,” the participants of which will include filmmakers, film activists, professors and historians.
The venues this year will be the National Museum Auditorium, the Central Public Library Auditorium, Alliance Française de Dhaka and the Edward M Kennedy Center.