No Bangladeshi films in 30th Kolkata Int’l Film Festival

Bangladesh will be absent from the 30th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) beginning on December 4.
No film from Bangladesh has registered in any section of this year’s KIFF, festival chairman and ace director Goutam Ghosh said.
“The situation is different from previous years. There are visa issues. Due to the recent political developments in Bangladesh, it will take time for things to settle down. In the present circumstances, no film from the neighbouring country figures on the list,” he said.
Bangladeshi film “Dear Maloti” could not be included in the competition section of the festival this year as its Asian premiere is scheduled for the ongoing International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa, another KIFF official said.
At the 28th KIFF in 2022, “Kura Pokkhir Shunne Ura” by Muhammad Quayum won the coveted Golden Royal Bengal Tiger crown as the best film in the international competition for innovation in moving images along with the Spanish movie “Upon Entry” by Alejandra Rojas and Juan Sebastian Vasquez.
Another Bangladeshi film, “Nonajoler Kabbo” by Rezwan Shahriar Sumit, was given the Asian Select (NETPAC) award at the 26th KIFF.
No film personality from Bangladesh is on the list of panelists in various sessions and workshops in this year’s edition of the KIFF due to visa problems, Ghosh said.
Names of Bangladeshi publishers are also not there in the 48th Kolkata Book Fair, to be held in January next year, for the first time in 28 years.