12th Int'l Short and Independent Film Festival begins

(From left) Hasnat Abdul Hye, Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Morshedul Islam and N Rashed Chowdhury at the inaugural ceremony. A scene from “The Container”right.

With screening of three films, the 12th International Short and Independent Film Festival began at the Central Public Library in Shahbagh, Dhaka on December 13. Featuring over 200 films from around 30 countries, the weeklong festival will be a platform for young filmmakers who want to see themselves in global film competitions and want to take cinema ahead.
Bangladesh Short Film Forum (BSFF) has been arranging the festival biennially since 1988. It is one of the oldest film festivals in the country. Morshedul Islam, filmmaker and president of BSFF, said that the initial idea for arranging the festival came about as a consequence of the then ongoing film movement.
Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith inaugurated the festival as chief guest, while Information Minister Hasanul Haque Inu spoke as special guest. The festival chairman and litterateur Hasnat Abdul Hye presided over the session.
N. Rashed Chowdhury, convener of the festival committee, spoke on each aspect of the festival at the opening.
The inaugural programme was divided into two brief phases. The guests hoisted the national flag, as the national anthem was rendered by singers of Anandadhoni, outside the auditorium. The second phase featured a brief discussion and formal announcement of the inauguration by the Finance Minister.
The Bangladesh-South Korea joint venture, “The Container”, was the inaugural film, followed by Indian animated political satire, “Boons of Politics”. The Bangladeshi film narrates the hardship of a migrant who lives illegally in South Korea. The day's last film was a Belgian monologue, “The Lobster's Cry” -- a film on a young soldier returning home from Chechnya war.
The festival includes seminars, memorial lectures, workshop and award giving ceremony at four venues -- Central Public Library, National Museum, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy and British Council.
Filipino film veteran Nestor Jardin will deliver the Alamgir Kabir Memorial Lecture this morning at 11 am at the Seminar Hall of Shilpakala Academy in Dhaka. Jardin will speak on “Recent Trends in Asian Cinema”. Another seminar will emphasise on generating a national film policy.
Awards will be given in five categories: “Tareq Shahriar Best Independent Shorts”, “Best Fiction”, “Best Documentary”, “Heeralal Sen Lifetime Achievement” and an award named after Tareque Masud.
The organisers will hold a retrospective, featuring films by French director Chris Marker. They will also hold a daylong screening of Tareque Masud films on December 16. The films include “Muktir Gaan”, “Matir Moina”, “Ontorjatra” and “Runway”.
Other features of the festival are: tribute to filmmakers Mani Kaul, Theo Angelopolous and Eric Rohmer through screening films; a session on women filmmakers; and screening of selected films from “Travelling Film South Asia '12”.
Everyday films will be screened in four different sessions: at 11 am, 3 pm, 5 pm and 7 pm.
The weeklong festival that will end on December 19 has been dedicated to filmmaker Tareque Masud and director of photography Mishuk Munier.