Dhaka: The 21st Dhaka International Film Festival (DIFF) kicked off to a colourful start on Saturday in the capital city Dhaka. The festival was inaugurated at the National Museum auditorium by Foreign Minister Dr. A K Abdul Momen.
The biggest film festival of Bangladesh will show 252 films from 71 countries during the festival between 14-22 January at multiple venues in Dhaka. Acclaimed actor Sabyasachi Chakraborty, who is greatly admired for playing the role of Feluda in Satyajit Ray’s movies, was the special guest on the occasion.
The inaugural programme began with traditional dance performances by the artists of Shilpakala Academy. Speaking on the occasion, Foreign Minister Dr. A K Abdul Momen spoke about the role of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as a Minister in pre-liberation days of Bangladesh in promoting film culture.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs and Chief patron of Rainbow Society which organises this festival, felicitated it for organising this festival without interruption even during the Covid-19 pandemic. Large number of foreign delegates and filmmakers from various countries are participating in the DIFF.
Students and cinema lovers were present in large numbers during the inaugural function. During the festival, films will be shown under nine segments including Asian Cinema, Retrospective section, Bangladesh Panorama, Cinema of the world, Spiritual films, Children’s film, Women filmmakers and short and experimental films among others. Under the retrospective section, the DIFF will showcase 4 films by the renowned French new-wave filmmaker Fracois Truffaut.
The Bangladesh panorama will feature 9 full length films from the country. From India, a total of 36 films will be shown during the festival under various segments. Fakhrul Arefeen Khan directed JK 1971 was shown as the inaugural film of the festival. It shows an attempted hijack of a Pakistani aircraft by a French national named Jean Kay. He demanded the plane be diverted to the then Calcutta to deliver 20 tons of medicines for the refugee children of Bangladesh sheltering in India.