International Short and Independent Film Festival, Dhaka

16th International Short and Independent Film Festival, Dhaka 2021 Background The festival was initiated in December 1988 as the first international festival of short films in this entire subcontinent. Both eminent and young filmmakers attended the previous fifteen editions from Europe, Asia, and America. Among them were eminent Polish director Krzysztof Zanussi and Indian film directors MrinalSen, Buddheadev Dasgupta, GautamGhose, and Aparna Sen. In the last festival, a total of 5000 films from 110 countries participated. The festival is now an internationally recognized showcase for the latest short and independent films made around the globe. The festival has now become a major biennial cultural event of the country and has been growing in size, stature, and media coverage. The upward trend is expected to continue during the forthcoming 16th festival in terms of audience turnout, coverage in both electronic and print media, and the number of entries and participating countries. Festival programs The festival is a seven days long event, and screenings are held simultaneously at three auditoriums in different parts of the city. The main venue is the Central Public Library Auditorium at Shahbagh. The other venues are the National Museum’s Main auditorium and Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Auditorium. Each day, there will be Four screening sessions at the main venue, which make a total of 50 shows, apart from the opening and closing ceremonies. The special sessions and retrospectives – of films by an eminent maker or films on special themes, focus on films from some particular country or period focuses – will be held in the other auditoriums. Each screening is about 110-120 minutes, which comprises various genres – short fiction, short animation, short documentary, short experimental, and feature-length films. Each show draws an audience of about 800 people at the main venue. Besides the main venue, the other renowned and prestigious venues like the National Museum, Shilpakala Academy Auditoriums, and Seminar rooms, a huge expected turnout of the audience will take place and make the event an attracted Cultural audience. Besides regular screening sessions, there will be other special screening sessions also. Like – Lithuanian film package, FTI student film package, Retrospective of Abbas Kiarostami& Kumar Shahani, etc. Apart from short films, the festival also promotes the local Independent films which are internationally acclaimed and well-received in global festival circuits. An international standard Seminar titled “AlamgirKabir Memorial Lecture” is organized during the festival. The earlier editions of the event were very successful with the participation of Filmmakers and critics from all around the globe. Since the 10th edition of the Festival, to commemorate it, the event introduced it as an international competitive festival and two awards are being given to the Best Fiction and Best Documentary films amounting to US Dollar 1000.00 each film. From the last edition of the festival, another important addition is the “NETPAC Jury Award” – which is only for participating Asian countries in the festival in both the “Fiction” and “Documentary” category. And another award the festival announces is – “TareqShahriar Best Independent Short”, which given to young and aspiring Bangladeshi filmmakers. The 16th International Short & Independent Film Festival, Dhaka 2021 FestivalSchedule 24 December to 31 December 2021 Venues Main Venue – Central Public Library Other Venues – National Museum, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. Contact Chairman: NasiruddinYousuffBacchu Festival Director: Imran Hussain Kirmany kirmany@gmail.com Deputy Festival Director: Rakibul Hasan Email: cp3sixty@gmail.com Official Email: 16th.isiff@gmail.com Official Website: www.isiff-bd.org Official Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/International-Short-and-Independent-Film-Festival-105850525039757 FilmFreeway: filmfreeway.com/isiff Main Sections: Competition Section Tarek Shariar Independent Bangladeshi Shorts Alamgir Kabir Memorial Lecture Master Classes Awards & Mentions