The 18th Dhaka International Film Festival (DIFF) has announced the programme for its Bangladesh Panorama Section, which aims to promote Bangladeshi filmmakers and their work. Internationally renowned film critic and DIFF Festival Director Ahmed Muztaba Zamal confirmed the news on social media, recently. According to Zamal, the Bangladesh Panorama Section will consist of 10 to 15 selected fictional and documentary films, spanning the period from 2018 to 2019. Films that have a minimum length of 50 minutes are eligible for entry in this section. The International Film Critics’ Federation, FIPRESCI, will give the Critics’ Award. One film will receive a certificate and a crest from the FIPRESCI juries.

The segment will showcase 11 Bangladeshi films: Ashraf Shishir’s Amra Ekta Cinema Banabo (The Innocence), Nasiruddin Yousuff’s Alpha, Arun Chowdhuri’s Mayaboti, Pradip Ghosh’s Shuttle Train, N Rashed Chowdhury’s Chandrabati Kotha! (The Tales of Chandra), Farid Ahmad’s Tunes of Nostalgia, Masud Pothik’s Maya - The Lost Mother, Proshoon Rahamaan’s Nigrohokal (Long Period of Persecution), Impress Telefilm anthology Iti, Tomari Dhaka, Tauquir Ahmed’s Fagun Hawa, and Taneem Rahman Angshu’s No Dorai.

The festival has been organised on a regular basis by the Rainbow Film Society, which has been dedicated to the promotion of a healthy cine culture in Bangladesh and to celebrating the global mainstream in film and its social relevance since 1977.

The 18th DIFF will screen close to 220 films, with participation from around 74 countries. The festival will have competitions in its Asian Cinema Section, Retrospective, Bangladesh Panorama Section, Cinema of the World Section, Children Films Section, Women Filmmakers Section, Short and Independent Films Section and Spiritual Films Section.

All the film screenings will be held across Alliance Francaise de Dhaka, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Central Public Library Auditorium, National Museum Auditorium, Madhumita Cinema Hall and Star Cineplex in Dhaka. The festival will run from January 11 to 19.