Entertainment Desk //

The Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) is starting from December 4 with 180 films from 29 countries of the world. The festival will continue till December 11. The theme of this year’s festival is ‘World Films on the Land of Bengal’.

But not a single film from Bangladesh will be included in it! This was confirmed at the press conference of the 30th Kolkata International Film Festival on November 29 at Nandan’s Shishir Mancha. Festival chairman Gautam Ghosh said that Bangladesh has been ignored this time mainly due to the change in the political landscape and visa complications between the two countries.

Recently, this West Bengal-based filmmaker told Indian media that the situation is different this time compared to previous years. There are visa complications. Due to the recent political developments in Bangladesh, the situation will take time to normalize. Considering the current situation, no film from neighboring Bangladesh is on the festival list this time.

But before that, Bangladeshi films and artists used to be the lifeblood of the festival almost every year. In 2022, Bangladesh’s Muhammad Qayyum’s ‘Kura Pakshir Shunne Uda’ was jointly selected as the best film of the festival. In the 26th edition, another Dhaka-based filmmaker, Rezwan Shahriar Sumit’s ‘Nona Jol Kabyo’ won the Asian Select (NETPAC) award.

Despite not winning any awards last year, three Bangladeshi films were screened at the festival. This time, not only the films, but also no Bangladeshi artists or filmmakers were included in the list of discussants in various sessions and workshops of the festival. Director Tapan Sinha’s ‘Galpa Lukun Sathi’ will be screened as the opening film.

In addition, Bangladesh’s name and stalls are absent from the Kolkata Book Fair after 28 consecutive years. The 48th Kolkata International Book Fair is going to be held from January 28 to February 9. While there were at least 70 Bangladeshi stalls last year, there is not a single one this time! There is still a lot of criticism in both Bengal and Bangladesh about this.