The International Emerging Film Talent Association (IEFTA), a Monaco-based non-profit, non-governmental organisation, has taken an initiative to foster Bangladeshi filmmakers by providing them an opportunity to participate in a workshop which is to be held at the Cannes Film Festival this year.
The initiative is one of the four different initiatives organised by IEFTA at this year’s 70th Cannes Film Festival, which will be held from May 17 to 28. The biennial event, “Dhaka to Cannes” is organised in co-operation with International Film Initiative of Bangladesh (IFIB) in support of local emerging filmmakers.
In the last week of March, IEFTA revealed that three Bangladeshi filmmakers, Lubna Sharmin, Md Abid Mallick, and Kazi Mahadi Muntasir, have been selected by the international jury to be in the Producers Workshop at the Marché du Film.
In this introducing event, selected participants will get an opportunity to fly to Cannes to take part in the Producers Workshop hosted by the Marche du Film, the business counterpart of the Cannes Film Festival and one of the largest film markets in the world. This unique event includes three days of intensive meetings with some of the world’s prominent filmmakers and film executives.
In a similar initiative, Addis to Cannes was launched by IEFTA in 2010, in partnership with the Ethiopian Film Initiative to support young Ethiopian filmmakers through a career-developing trip to Cannes. Past participants have gone on to have their films shown in international festivals such as Berlin, Toronto, and Venice, and sold to international markets.
Through its mentorship initiative, IEFTA will also sponsor two filmmakers from Mongolia to the Producers Network.
IEFTA will host a reception at the Plage Royal for Dhaka to Cannes: A Celebration of Talent. The event features participating Bangladeshi filmmakers from this year’s inaugural Dhaka to Cannes initiative, as well as the Mongolian filmmakers, and Watersprite participants.
Friday, March 21, 2025
