Independent Bangladeshi filmmaker Zayed Siddiki's short film "Darkak" has officially been selected for competition at two prestigious international film festivals in France and Canada.

The film is set to be screened later this month at the 10th Toulouse Indian Cinema Festival in France and the 14th South Asian Film Festival of Montreal in Canada.

Among 13 short films selected this year, "Darkak" will compete for both the Jury Award and the Audience Award. The screening is scheduled for 2pm on April 24 at the Chemin de la Beauté Multipurpose Hall in Toulouse.

Running from April 23 to 27, the Toulouse Indian Cinema Festival is regarded as one of the key platforms for South Asian cinema in France.

This year's competition includes 10 feature films and 13 short films. Selected entries include "Village Rockstars 2" by Assamese filmmaker Rima Das, "The Mehta Boys" by Boman Irani, "Pooja, Sir" by Nepali director Deepak Rauniyar, and "Farming the Revolution" by Nishtha Jain.

Meanwhile, the Montreal South Asian Film Festival will be held from April 24 to May 4 in theatres, and from May 1 to 10 online. At this festival, "Darkak" will vie with 22 other short films for the Best Short Film award, alongside 26 features in the Best Feature Film category.

Notable entries include "Shambhala" by Min Bahadur Bham, "Village Rockstars 2" by Rima Das, "In the Belly of a Tiger" by Siddharth Jatla, and "Pooja, Sir" by Deepak Rauniyar.

Inspired by a short story by renowned Bangladeshi writer Shahidul Zahir, the screenplay and dialogues of "Darkak" were written by director Zayed Siddiki himself.

The film revolves around Torab Sheikh, an elderly man who feels increasingly neglected due to his inability to contribute financially. When his daughter is married off without his knowledge, Torab, deeply humiliated, chooses to disappear—only for his family to realise his significance after his absence.

Veteran actor Jayanta Chattopadhyay plays the lead role, with supporting performances by Aminur Rahman Mukul, Iqbal Hossain, Tuntuni Sobhan, Fazlul Haque, Tahuya Labib Tura, ABM Saidul Haque, Zerin Akhtar Shimul, and Akhlakuzzaman Khan.

"Darkak" was produced by the director himself under the banner of Homo Reflector Productions. Syed Shahzada Al-Karim, Israt Jahan, Sakib Iftekhar, and Hasib Shakil served as executive producers. The film is being distributed internationally by Screenscope (Australia-New Zealand) and 7PLAMS Entertainment (USA).

So far, "Darkak" has been selected at 16 international festivals across 10 countries. It won Best Film at the 6th Hill Film Festival (Bangladesh) and a Special Jury Award at the 10th Shimla International Film Festival (India).

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The film was also screened at the 15th Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, the 13th South Asian Film Festival of Toronto, the 13th DC South Asian Film Festival, the 19th Kazan International Film Festival, and the 12th Indo-German Film Week, among others.