"Bangladesh and West Bengal have common culture, heritage, rivers and soil," said the Information and Broadcast Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud, while inaugurating the 5th Bangladesh Film Festival as the chief guest at Nandan-1 cinema hall in South Kolkata on Thursday evening, according to a press release.

He also mentioned, "Though the barbed wire on the border divides Bangladesh and West Bengal of India, it could not break the bond of the hearts of the people of the two Bengals". 
 
The minister said if the filmmakers and other concerned individuals of the two Bengals work together, Bangla film will dominate at the world stage.
 
Hasan also added that the film industry began its journey in Bangladesh at the hands of the architect of independent Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
 
"Film is an important medium through which people can know the history of hundreds of years and even draw a picture of future too", he observed.
 
He hoped Bangladesh Film Festival will find success like previous years with the cooperation of everyone involved.
 
West Bengal's School Education Minister Bratya Basu also joined the event as the guest of honour while film director Goutam Ghosh was present as the special guest.
 
Bratya Basu said the language and culture of two Bengals are not different and in this perspective, "I think this is a film festival of the two Bengals. In the fifth year, the films definitely attract the people of West Bengal."

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"We want a festival that should be held in Bangladesh on films of Kolkata. Talks are underway in this regard," he said.
 
Bangladeshi lawmaker Aroma Dutta, additional secretary Md Faruq Ahmed, Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner in Kolkata Andalib Elias, Bangladeshi actor Ferdous Ahmed, actresses Purnima, Aruna Biswas and Nusraat Faria, Indian singer Rupankar Bagchi and Bangladeshi singer Priyanka Gope, among others, also joined the programme.
 
Under the initiative of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata arranged the 3-day film festival at the historic Nandan-1 and 2 cinema hall from July 29 to 31. 
 
A total of 24 films including "Hasina-A Daughter's Tale", "JK-1971", "Birkanya Pritilata", "Laal Shari","Guerilla", "Damal", "Poran" and "Gunin" will be showed in the open film festival from 1pm to 8pm every day.