Winners announced at JnU National Film Festival 2025

The curtain fell on the 1st Jagannath University National Film Festival 2025 on Wednesday (June 25) at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy's Chitrashala Auditorium. Organised by the Jagannath University Film Society, with support from Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, the three-day festival began on June 23.

Professor Dr Rezwanul Karim, Vice-Chancellor of Jagannath University, attended the closing ceremony as chief guest. Special guests included writer and film critic Bidhan Ribero, filmmaker Sadia Khaled Riti, and screenwriter-director Syed Ahmed Shawki.

Also present were Professor Dr Shah Nistar Kabir, Chair of the Department of Film and Television at JnU; former presidents and general secretaries of the JnU Film Society, including Debashish Biswas Pavel; and members of the festival organising committee.

In addition to the screenings at Chitrashala, selected films were also showcased at the virtual conference room of JnU's Computer Science and Engineering department. 

Further screenings of selected works are scheduled at the Green University venue on June 28.

One of the festival's key highlights was the award ceremony recognising the best films and directors. The list of winners is as follows:

Under 5-minute category:

Best Film: "Jibon O Jowar", directed by Atanu Biswas

Best Director: Sifat Rahman, for "Nichok Dusswapno Noy"

Under 15-minute category:

Best Film: "Pradoshe", directed by Mallika Ray

Best Director: Saidus Salehin Zayeem, for "Kalapathor"

Festival President Adnan Mahmud Saikat said, "The JnU Film Society has long played a pioneering role in promoting independent cinema. This festival is a creative outcome of that journey."

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Festival Director Ragib Shahriar Saikat remarked, "This initiative aims to spotlight the dreams and creativity of emerging filmmakers." General Coordinator Hasibuzzaman Rik added, "The success of this festival is the result of collective effort by all our members."

Other key organisers included Khairul Hasan Akash, Shams Hasan Sajid, Zarin Sheikh, Rashed Hossain Moumit, and Shahriya Jahan.