18 Films from top global festivals to screen in Dhaka at DIFF

This year is no exception. Films that have already been nominated or awarded at top film festivals like Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Locarno, Toronto, Tallinn, Moscow, Mumbai, Busan, etc will be screened here in Dhaka.

Dhaka International Film Festival brings films from all around the world every year at our doorsteps. This year is no exception. Films that have already been nominated or awarded at top film festivals like Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Locarno, Toronto, Tallinn, Moscow, Mumbai, Busan, etc will be screened here in Dhaka. Audiences will get to experience these films at Alliance Française de Dhaka, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy and National Museum Auditorium between January 20 to 28, 2024 at the 22nd edition of DIFF.

1.Film name: Baqyt

Director: Askar Uzabayev

Country:  Kazakhstan

Previous Festival: Berlin International Film Festival and 2022 Winner Panorama Audience Award

Synopsis: For her job as an influencer, she wears orange and a broad smile. The "Happiness" brand is her doctrine, but her home is a dark place where brute force has ruled for years. This film shows us what it costs to escape the trap of misogyny.

2.Film name: Whispering Mountains

Director: Jagath Manuwarna

Country: Sri Lanka

Previous Festival: Asian Film Competition, Rotterdam International Film Festival, 2023 Winner Netpac Award

Synopsis:  Young people in Sri Lanka commit suicide en masse. The government blames this on a supernatural virus that must be fought with an ancient ritual. 

3.File Name: Peafowl

Director: Sungbin Byun

Country: South Korea

Previous Festival:  Asian Film Competition, Busan International Film Festival, 2022 Winner Watcha Award

Synopsis: A transgender Korean lady who has been living and working in Seoul as a dancer must deal with her father's passing and the expectations placed on her to take part in a traditional, gendered memorial dance.

4. File Name: Barir Naam Shahana

Director: Leesa Gazi

Country: Bangladesh

Previous Festival: Bangladesh Panorama, Mumbai Film Festival, 2023 Winner Gender Sensitivity Award

Synopsis:  Dipa is fierce, funny, forthright, a divorcee "menace" in a rural town in '90s Bangladesh who defies social stigma and the burden of family honour to live on her own terms.

5. File Name: Oameni de Treabă (Men of Deeds)

Director: Paul Negoescu

Country: Romania, Bulgaria

Previous Festival: Cinema of the World, Beijing International Film Festival, 2023 Nominee Tiantan Award.

Synopsis: Ilie (late 30s) enjoys the easy life of a village policeman. His passivity during a series of violent events soon turns him into an accomplice to murder. Tension accumulates in the village, forcing Ilie to make a final decision.

6.File Name: Kot Charmi (Leather Jacket Man)

Director: Hossein Mirza Mohammadi

Country: Iran

Previous festival: Cinema of the World, Fajr Film Festival

Synopsis: Issa Farahmand is an inspector of the welfare organization who, while investigating the financial violations of one of the centers, found out about a gang of economic corruption and drug transit by mistreated girls.

7.File Name: Affrikáta (Affricate)

Director: Anna Gyimesi

Country: Hungary

Previous Festival: Women Filmmakers Section, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, 2022 Nominee Shorts and Animation Competition (Best Live Action Shorts), Kustendorf International Film and Music Festival 2023 Winner (The Bronze Egg), Blue Danube Film Festival 2023 Winner (Danube Mermaid Film Best Film).

Synopsis: Klára is raising her two teenage daughters alone, one of which is disabled. The three of them go on an off-season holiday to the seaside, where they encounter Mark, a young hotel worker. The young man invites the girls to participate in the hotel's talent show, but his flirtation disturbs Klára. By the end of the vacation, she not only has to accept that her disabled girl is not a child anymore but recognize her unsustainable lifestyle and deeply buried desires.

8.File Name: Tria-del sentimento del tradire (Tria)

Director: Giulia Grandinetti

Country: Italy

Previous Festival: Women Filmmakers Section, Venice Film Festival, 2022 Nominee Venice Horizons Award Best Short Film,

Synopsis: In a dystopian Rome, a law asses that Roma families cannot have more than three children. What price are we willing to pay today, just to find a place in the world?

9.File Name: Xiaohui and his cows

Director: Xinying Lao

Country: China

Previous Festival: Children Film Session, Berlin International Film Festival

Synopsis: When a calf is to be sold, the witty nine-year-old does everything in his power to prevent the separation of mother and child. A soulful cry for love in capitalist times.

10.File Name: Todo Incluido (All-inclusive)

Director: Duván Duque Vargas

Country: France, Colombia

Previous Festival:  Short & Independent Film Section, Toronto International Film Festival 2022

Synopsis: Eleven-year-old Fer travels with his family to a countryside resort a few hours outside Bogotá. Although Fer's father will be doing business, he has promised to make time for family fun, something that has been missing from their lives.

11.File Name: Sahbety (My GirlFriend)

Director: Kawthar Younis

Country: Egypt

Previous Festival: Cairo International Film Festival 2022 Winner (Special Jury Award) , Venice Film Festival (2022 Nominee Venice Horizons Award),  Amman International Film Festival 2023 Winner (Black Iris Award).

Synopsis: Desperate for intimacy, Ali follows his girlfriend's suggestion that puts their relationship to the test. The plan unfolds unexpectedly when gender roles become blurred.

12.File Name: Tea

Director: Ayman Sousa

Country: Egypt

Previous Festival: Short & Independent Film Section, Moscow International Film Festival, 2023 Nominee Audience Award 2023 Nominee Audience Award.  Luxor African Film Festival 2023 Winner Student Film Competition.  

Synopsis: A new night shift employee sets off for the apparently simple task of making himself a cup of tea.

13.File Name: I Promise You Paradise

Director: Morad Mostafa

Country: Egypt, France, Qatar

Previous Festival: Cannes Film Festival 2023 Winner (Nikon Discovery Award), Cinefest Sudbury 2023 Winner (Short Film), BSFF – Bucharest Short Film Festival 2023 Winner (Jury Prize), Dokufest International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2023 Nominee (International Shorts), International Izmir Short Film Festival 2023 Nominee International Panorama.

Synopsis: Following a violent incident, Eissa, a 17-year-old African migrant in Egypt, strives to beat the clock to save his loved ones whatever it takes.

14.File Name: Nada de todo esto

Director: Patricio Martínez, Francisco Cantón

Country: Argentina, Spain, United States

Previous Festival: Cannes Film Festival (2023 Nominee Palme d'Or - Best Short Film), Toronto International Film Festival (2023 Winner IMDbPro Short Cuts), Stockholm Film Festival (2023 Nominee Bronze Horse).

Synopsis: Whilst a mother drives with her daughter through the wealthy suburbs of her home city, eyeing the houses of the rich, she accidentally drives her car into a beautiful flower patch inside the front yard of a mansion, bogging their car down.

15.File Name: Fár

Director: Gunnur Martinsdóttir Schlüter

Country: Iceland

Previous Festival: Cannes Film Festival (2023 Nominee Palme d'Or - Best Short Film), Toronto International Film Festival (2023 Nominee IMDbPro Short Cuts).

Synopsis: At a downtown café, business colleagues are discussing a future investment opportunity when a seagull hits the cafe's window right in front of them. One of them - Anna - tries to ignore the event but is unable to shake off the incidents.

 16.File Name: Tits

irector: Eivind Landsvik

Country: Norway

Previous Festival: Cannes Film Festival ((2023 Nominee Palme d'Or - Best Short Film),  Cinema Jove – Valencia Interantional Film Festival ( 2023 Nominee Moon of Valencia), Stockholm Film (2023 Nominee Bronze Horse), Kaohsiung Film Festival ( 2023 Nominee International Short Film Competition) Golden Fireball Award.

Synopsis: Following an unpleasant run in at the beach, teenagers Oscar and Iben are left behind by their friends. When one of them makes a friendly gesture, they experience what might be the beginning of an unexpected relationship.

17.File Name: Dammi

Director: Yann Demange

Country: France

Previous Festival: Toronto International Film Festival ( 2023 Nominee IMDbPro Short Cuts) Best Film,  Locarno International Film Festival.

Synopsis: A man travels back to Paris while navigating his past experiences and weird glimpses of the present in an effort to reconnect with his estranged father. He is forced to face his fears and guilt while also reclaiming his lost Arab identity.

18.File Name: Our Males and Females

Director: Ahmad Alyaseer

Country: Jordan

Previous Festival: Short Shots Film Festival and Asia (2023 Nominee Grand Prix), Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation and Technology (2023 Winner Jury Award) Best Dramatic Short, more 99 wins, 65 nom.

Synopsis: A father and mother are faced with the painful task of washing and shrouding their deceased transgender daughter. When no one agrees to wash her, how far is the father willing to go to make sure his "son" is washed?