The London Bangali Film Festival (LBFF) is expected to take place in late September in the UK capital. The programme will be held for five to six days showcasing films and premiers.
The announcement came from a press conference held on Thursday in the capital’s Gulshan with Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith as the chief guest.
Actress and model Dilruba Yasmeen Ruhee hosted the function. She said: “This festival is unique as it focuses on the Bengali films. We want to take the Bangladeshi films to the international arena.”
Mentioning about last year’s London Indian Film festival where Bengali film Shangram was premiered, Ruhee said she had found very few Bangladeshi films at the festival.
The LBFF will be held in London with special guests and talks, followed by a red carpet film awards ceremony, thus making it the largest Bangladeshi film festival. Judges of the festival include film makers, critics (media), distributors and senior staff of a UK film school. The LBFF invites films that are commercial, non-commercial, independent and artistic.
Producer and Director Munsur Ali is founding CEO of the LBFF, which is an annual celebration of films from or about the Bangali Diaspora.
“We need to export good quality Bangali films for the international audience, with an aim to bringing them into the theatres,” Munsur said.
During the Q&A, Munsur was asked how this festival was different from the Bangladesh National Award. “The films will be independently judged on their merit by the UK media and film personalities. I have decided to stay away from the process to make it completely unbiased,” he replied.
The festival aims at screening alternative artistic cinemas, and telling unique and untold stories or stories re-told from another point of view. “Our goal is to take these films to the mainstream audience and highlight the rich, artistic, historical and modern culture of Bangladesh.” Munsur added.