‘Ali’ by Adnan Al Rajeev has been selected for the Official Competition at the Festival de Cannes. This is the first time a Bangladeshi film has been selected for the Short Film competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
The film is directed by Adnan Al Rajeev and produced by Bangladeshi film producer Tanveer Hossain and the Philippines' Kristine De Leon.
In an emotional post on Facebook Rajeev announced this news and showed his gratitude towards the film’s cast and crew. He wrote “Last year, I stood at Cannes as a producer. This year, I return as a director — and this time, we’ve stepped into the Official Competition! But no one walks this path alone — cinema was never meant to be a solo journey. It’s beautiful chaos, a symphony of hearts beating together.”
In the post he also thanked his wife actress Mehazabien Chowdhury, writing “And to my beautiful wife - back then my girlfriend Mehazabien Chowdhury you’ve been my silent strength. The one person who endured my tantrums, tensions, and bursts of affection over this work. You were the only one I could truly open up to. I feel even luckier to have married you, because the good parts just keep flowing. My forever partner, my lucky charm.”
The 78th Cannes film festival is set to start from May 13 and will end on May 24. Not only is this a personal achievement for Rajeev but a historic moment for all Bangladeshi filmmakers.
Rajeev ended his post with “This isn’t just a Cannes moment. It’s a message to every Bangladeshi filmmaker, every South Asian storyteller — we belong here. Our stories matter. And finally, the world is listening.
Today, I pause. I breathe. And I say thank you — not because I must, but because gratitude is louder than my heartbeat right now. This is a new beginning”
Last year, Rajeev and Hossain's co-produced Filipino film "Radikals" was also selected at the Cannes Film Festival in the parallel section, Critics' Week.
