The 22nd Dhaka International Film Festival (DIFF) will begin on Saturday, with the slogan "Better Film, Better Audience, Better Society".
One hundred and twenty-nine full-length feature films and one hundred and twenty-three short and independent films are scheduled to enthral the moviegoers at the festival, where Bangladesh will be represented through 71 films including 12 full-length feature films.
Finance Minister Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali will inaugurate the festival as the chief guest at the main auditorium of the Bangladesh National Museum at 4pm while the Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen and eminent Indian actress Sharmila Tagore will join the inauguration ceremony as the special guests.
The chief patron of the festival, Shahriar Alam MP will preside over the opening ceremony.
The festival this year will open with the Iran-Bangladesh joint production film Fereshteh starring acclaimed actress Jaya Ahsan and directed by Morteza Atashzamzam, under the Wide Angle Film Poster Exhibition section.
The inaugural session on Saturday evening will also showcase the Shyam Benegal-directed Mujib: Ekti Jatir Rupokar (Mujib: The Making of a Nation) at 7 pm, under the Bangladesh Panorama category.
Moviegoers will be welcomed at different venues of the 22nd edition of this annual film festival, including the Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib auditorium (main auditorium) and Poet Sufia Kamal auditorium of Bangladesh National Museum, National Art Gallery auditorium and National Music and Dance auditorium of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA), Ministry of Foreign Affairs Academy auditorium and Alliance Française de Dhaka (AFD), Dhanmondi in the capital.
Eminent Indian actress and the esteemed guest of this years festival Sharmila Tagore will formally inaugurate the 10th International Women Film Makers Conference, which will be chaired by DIFF Chairperson Kishwar Kamal on January 21 at 9:30 am.
State Minister for Women and Child Affairs Simin Hossain Rimi will be present as the Chief Guest at the conference. —UNB
