The Dhaka International Film Festival is returning for its 23rd edition, scheduled to run over nine days from January 11 to January 19 next year.

The Rainbow Film Society will host the film festival, with the theme "Better Film, Mindful Audience, Enlightened Society."

The festival will take place at familiar venues, including the National Museum Auditorium, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, the Russian Cultural Centre, and Alliance Française Auditorium.

Festival Director Ahmed Muztaba Zamal shared with local media, "Preparations are underway for the Dhaka International Film Festival, which remains Bangladesh's most prominent and esteemed film festival. We are confident that, as always, this event will play a vital role in promoting a sophisticated and uplifting cultural atmosphere."

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He added, "We have initiated preparations, including securing exhibition clearance for the chosen films through the certification board. The festival's primary goal is to showcase fresh cinematic works from acclaimed filmmakers across the globe. This year's event will showcase 220 films representing 70 countries," he noted.

Ahmed Muztaba Zamal mentioned that the festival will feature films across multiple categories, such as the Asian Competition, Retrospective, Tributes, Bangladesh Panorama, Wide Angle, Cinema of the World, Children's Films, Spiritual Films, Short and Independent Films, and Women's Film Sessions.

The organiser revealed that eight films have been selected for the Bangladesh Panorama section of the upcoming edition of the festival.

The lineup includes "Shoroter Joba" by Kusum Sikder, "Ekhane Nongor" by Mehedi Rony, "Fatima" by Dhrubo Hasan, "Roktojoba" by Niamul Mukta, "Boli" by Iqbal Hossain Chowdhury, "Bataser Fena" by Tanvir Muhammad, "Agantuk" by Biplob Sarkar, and "Neel Poddo" by Toufiq Elahi.

The festival will also showcase approximately 40 short films from Bangladesh.

In the Asian Competition category, notable entries include "Dreaming & Dying" (Indonesia-Singapore), "When the Walnut Leaves Turn Yellow" (Turkey), and "Deal at the Border" (Kyrgyzstan), among others.

The Spiritual section will feature films such as "Kalachakra" (Russia), "Raise Me a Memory" (Estonia), "Monte Clérigo" (Portugal), "Our Memories" (France), "Our Mother" (Italy), and "400 Cassettes" (Greece), among others.