Filmmakers from 33 organisations across the country held a rally at the capital's Shahbagh to protest the inconsistencies in the national film grant process.

The event was organised on Monday after the list of films that received government grants between 2021 and 2022 was announced.

Filmmakers and producers such as Nasir Uddin Yousuff, Anjan Zahidur Rahim, Manzare Hasin, N Rashed Chowdhury, Faridur Rahman, Humaira Bilkis and Shiyan Shahriar were present at the protest amongst many others. The protest was organised by filmmaker Aparajita Sangita.

Speakers at the event criticised the priority given to commercial films in terms of government grants.They also asked for independent cinema to be prioritised for government grants, and recommended that commercial movies should be moved to a separate category.

Filmmaker Nasir Uddin Yousuff said, "Film history would be incomplete without the inclusion of documentary films. In order to preserve film as a medium of art, we must give grants to documentary films."

To add to this, filmmaker and producer Manzare Hasin said, "The grants were established to support films that spoke of our country, its people, the liberation war, our culture, struggles and achievements. However, in the last couple of years, the objective of the grants is no longer clear."

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Hasin further criticised commercial films saying, "I don't want to disrespect anyone, but can Shakib Khan not produce a film? Why does he need a government grant for his movie? Nowhere else in the world does a government provide grants to commercial films."

Finally, Hasin explained the discrimination faced by documentary films, "I have been involved in the grant procurement procedure before, so I know what happens. For example, I applied for a full-length documentary movie this time. And while documentaries are eligible, I know what takes place behind the scenes. None of the documentary proposals are even presented to the electorate committee that decides which movies will receive grants. There are seven others like me, who spent 2–3 months of labour, effort and money to apply for the grant. However, our proposals don't even make it before the electorate committee. If this is how it will be, then it should at least be announced from the beginning that documentaries are not eligible for grants."

At the end of the rally, the group sang folk songs in protest and put forth a 10-point list of demands.