‘Nona Pani’ sole Bangladeshi selection at Kolkata International Film Festival

The 29th edition of the Kolkata International Film Festival is set to take place in West Bengal from December 5 to December 12. Amongst the selected films for this event, "Nona Pani" (Barren Waters in English), directed by Syeda Neegar Banu, represents the sole entry from Bangladesh.

As per the festival's official website, the film "Nona Pani" has secured a place in the Asia Select (Netpack Award) category. Apart from the Bangladeshi movie, five additional movies are featured in this category.

Produced by Abul Khair, the cinematography of "Nona Pani" has been done by Nehal Quraisy while the editing has been done by Iqbal Kabir Jewel. The film stars Bilkis Banu Jaba, Kazi Rakibul Haque, Jayita Mahalanobish, and Jayanto Chattopadhay, amongst others. 

Upon the film's selection for the festival, Syeda Neegar Banu expressed, "We are thrilled that our film has found its place in the realm of 'world cinema' at the Kolkata International Film Festival. We aspire to share the narrative of the ordinary people residing in the saltwater regions adjacent to the Sundarbans of Bangladesh with a global audience."

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Apart from the 29th Kolkata International Film Festival, the film will be screened at the ninth Jaffna International Cinema Festival of Sri Lanka which will be held from December 14-19, and the 22nd Dhaka International Film Festival which will kick off from January 20-28.