The 23rd Dhaka International Film Festival (DIFF) concluded on Sunday, awarding Shankha Dasgupta-directed and Mehazabien Chowdhury-starrer film ‘Priyo Maloti’ the FIPRESCI Award for Best Full-Length Feature Film under the Bangladesh Panorama section.
Organised for nine days in five venues across the capital, the festival showcased 203 films from 75 countries in 10 different categories.
On Sunday, the festival concluded with its closing ceremony at the main auditorium of the Bangladesh National Museum in the capital, with the Bangladeshi premier of Iqbal Hossain Chowdhury-directed film ‘Boli’.
Cultural Affairs Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki joined the ceremony as the chief guest, who mentioned several future steps for the Bangladesh film industry and the future editions of the Dhaka International Film Festival. He promised a permanent arrangement for well-equipped venues, a fixed budget and year-round activities, and also shared aspirations for the continuation of these types of works.
“30 years ago, I was a volunteer at this festival; and I joined as a volunteer so that I could watch movies for free. However, this is unfortunate that our flagship Bangladeshi film festival lacks a permanent venue, advanced projection technology, and a proper sound system,” Farooki said at the event.
“Now that I am here, I can at least initiate the process for these necessary steps; and one thing I can tell you is that I will be an excellent Adviser to the next elected Cultural Minister – because now I know where the problems lie and how to address them.” the Cultural Adviser said at the closing ceremony.
Alongside ‘Priyo Maloti’, the Bangladesh Panorama section also crowned Monon Muntaka for her short film ‘A Lazy Noon’ which won the FIPRESCI Award in the Talent Section, while Aasif U Hamid-directed short film titled ‘Phulera Poshak Porena’ won the first runner-up and Mobarak Hossain-directed short film ‘Paitrik Bhita’ became the second runner-up.
For the Asian Film Competition section, ‘Yakshanba’ (Sunday), directed by Shokir Kholikov (Uzbekistan) received the Best Film Award, while The Best Feature Film Award for the Women Filmmaker section went to Sarah Mallegol’s French film ‘Kumva, Ce Qui Vient Du Silence’ (Kumva, Which Comes from Silence) and the Special Mention Award for this section went to ‘Takoi Imenno Den’ (Not Just Any Day), a Moldovan-Russian co-production directed by Klavdiya Korshunova.
The Badal Rahman Award in the Children’s Category went to ‘Where the White Cranes Dance’, a Russian film directed by Michael Lukachevsky. The Best Short Film Award in the Spiritual Film Section went to the Portuguese film ‘Monte Clerigo’, directed by Luis Campos; the Special Mention Award in the category went to the Indian film ‘Swaha’ (In the Name of Fire), directed by Abhilash Sharma, and the Best Feature Film Award in this section went to the Russian film ‘Prishelec’ (The Alien), directed by Ivan Sosnin.
‘The Guardian of Honor’, directed by Joselito Altarejos of the Philippines, took home the Special Audience Award, while the Mrinal Sen biopic ‘Padatik’, directed by Srijit Mukherji (West Bengal, India), took home the Best Audience Award.
Additionally, the Chinese film directors Haofeng Xu and Junfeng Xu won the Best Director Award for their movie ‘Men Qian Bao Di’ (100Yards). China was the country of focus at this year’s DIFF.
The Asian Film Competition also awarded Best Actress to Diman Zandi (‘Melody’, Iran/Tajikistan); Best Actor to Rayan Sarlak (‘Tabestan-E Haman Saal’, Iran); Best Scriptwriter to Takato Nishi and Noriko Yuasa (‘Performing Kaoru’s Funeral’, Japan); Best Cinematographer to Dilsat Canan (‘Demo Ke Pelê Gozan Benî Zer’, Turkiye) and the Iranian director Mahmoud Kalar received the Special Mention Award as Best Director in the category for ‘Tabestan-E Haman Saal’
Jalal Ahmed, Chairman of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission and DIFF Executive Committee member, presided over the closing ceremony. DIFF Director Ahmed Muztaba Zamal, alongside the festival committee Chairperson Kishwar Kamal, also spoke at the event, thanking the audience and the DIFF team members.
The next (24th) edition of the Dhaka International Film Festival will take place from January 10 to January 18, 2026, according to Rainbow Film Society, the festival’s organiser.
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