The 77th Cannes Film Festival, one of the world's most prestigious film festivals, is going to have Bangladeshi film critic, screenwriter, and journalist Sadia Khalid Reeti on the Fipresci (International Federation of Film Critics) jury.
‘It is a great honor to be invited to the biggest and most prestigious film festival in the world. It is also a great honor to represent the country in Cannes. With additional film critics on the judging board, we can share our cultural views and assist international cinema grow away from European centrism,’ Sadia Khalid Reeti said.
Sadia Khalid Reeti is the Showtime Editor of Dhaka Tribune.
Ahmed Muztaba Zamal, from Bangladesh, was the first Cannes Fipresci jury in 2002, 2005, and 2009. Reeti followed in 2019 and Bidhan Rebeiro in 2022.
Reeti, a screenwriting graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), has judged international film festivals in Italy, India, England, Nepal, France, Russia, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.
She was a Fipresci jury at the Bengaluru International Film Festival, International Film Festival of Kerala, and Dhaka International Film Festival (DIFF) and is the Co-Convenor of DIFF's West Meets East Screenplay Lab, one of the nation's top script development labs.
In 2022, Reeti became Bangladesh's first international Golden Globe voter. She attended Film Independent and Locarno Open Doors mentorship programs after Berlinale Talents.
Besides being the Cultural Editor of Dhaka Tribune, one of the country's top English daily newspapers, Reeti teaches cinema studies at several universities.
The British Council's Charles Wallace Fellowship encouraged her to study surreal filmmaking at the British Film Institute in 2023.
American filmmaker and actress Greta Gerwig will serve as jury president for the main competition in the film festival.
The main competition at Cannes will also include filmmakers, among others, Coppola, Audiard, Cronenberg, Arnold, Lanthimos, Sorrentino and Abbasi.
As she received the invitation a month before the festival, she said, ‘It is very difficult to get the visa and other necessities for European countries. I hope the French embassy in Dhaka will make it easy this time.’
Sadia Khalid Reeti has served as a jury member at different international film festivals, including in Italy, India, England, Nepal, France, Russia and Sri Lanka.
The 77th annual Cannes Film Festival is scheduled to take place from May 14 to 25.
Greta Gerwig, an American actress and director, will serve as the jury president for the main competition at Cannes.
This year, the main competition will feature a number of senior filmmakers, including Coppola, Audiard, Cronenberg, Arnold, Lanthimos, Sorrentino, and Abbasi, among others.
