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Event or Festival Title: 14th Dhaka International Film Festival Festival
Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh
Festival Dates: January 14 – 22, 2016
The entry/submission deadline: 30th September, 2015

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR ENTRANTS ON KEEPING OF FILM COPIES BY RFS:

Any DVD of films submitted for preview or screening to the DIFF WILL NOT BE RETURNED, regardless of whether or not the film is accepted into the Festival. Any and all copies retained by Rainbow Film Society (RFS) in Dhaka will be carefully safeguarded in a private library. Illegal copying will be strictly forbidden. However, RFS reserves the right to include any submitted films in future programmes or events, to include public screenings. Any use of submitted films for a television promotion will include no more than three minutes of the film in question.

Entry Rules:

All entries MUST BE RECEIVED FOR PREVIEW BY THE SELECTION COMMITTEE BY: 30 September, 2015. Preview copies, which WILL BE RETAINED BY RFS, must be in DVD (PAL ONLY) format. The RFS strongly suggests the use of a courier service, rather than the use of the postal service, to ensure timely delivery. A single film cannot be entered into more than one category at a time. However, a single filmmaker is welcome to submit an unlimited number of films to the DIFF Committee for inclusion in the Festival. The filmmaker is welcome to suggest which category he or she would like to enter but the Committee retains the right of final decision on category selection.

Prize Details:

An international jury board will adjudicate the Asian competition section. The international jury committee will select one Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Script and Best Cinematographer. These awards will consist of a crest and certificate.

Background Information:

The 14th Dhaka International Film Festival (DIFF) will be held in Dhaka from 14 to 22 January 2016. The general theme of the festival is “Better Film, Better Audience, Better Society.”

The Festival has been organized on a regular basis by Rainbow Film Society, which has been dedicated to the promotion of a healthy cine culture in Bangladesh and in celebrating the global mainstream in film and its social relevance since 1977. In the short span of twenty-two years, DIFF has attained international recognition with thirteen festivals held in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014.

Rainbow Film Society is one of the most active in the film society movement of Bangladesh. Apart from holding regular film shows and film related seminars and workshops, Rainbow also brings out The Celluloid, the only cinema periodical from Bangladesh with an international audience.

The DIFF is the most prestigious film event in Bangladesh and, to a great extent, has helped shape an increasingly healthy and positive national film culture. DIFF is a bold expression of resistance against the decadence, vulgarity and cheap commercialism that pervades the mainstream Bangladesh film industry. The festival has also created space for young and aspiring filmmakers in Bangladesh and larger South Asia to connect with global artistic trends and to strengthen the parallel development of Bangladeshi cinema.

Necessary preparatory work in this regard is already underway. During the 14th DIFF, organizers expect to screen approximately 150 films, with participation from approximately 50 countries. The festival will have a competition section for Asian and Australian cinema and segment categories for: “Retrospective”, “Cinema of the World “,” Children’s Film “,”Women Filmmakers “,” Short and Independent Films Section” and “Spiritual Films Section”.

Festival Categories:

a. Competition Section: Fictional films from Asia and Australia with a minimum length of 70 minutes are eligible for entry in this portion. An international jury board will adjudicate the Asian competition section. The international jury committee will also select one Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Script and Best Cinematographer. These awards will consist of a crest and certificate.

b. Retrospective: We are expecting three famous directors film from Asia, Africa and Latin America or from Europe will be included in the retrospectives section.

c. Cinema of the World: (Open for all feature film categories). One film will be selected for an Audience Award by the general viewers. The award will be in the form of a certificate and a crest.

d. Children’s Film: Several films will be included. These screenings are ideal family outings and will be open to all children and adults. One film will be selected by audience vote for the Best Juvenile Film Audience Award. The award will be in the form of a certificate and a crest.

e. Short and Independent Film: For the second time in its history, DIFF will screen films by independent filmmakers experimenting with a variety of filming formats. The widely available, relatively low-cost formats of DVCAM, VCD, DVD and mini DVs have allowed many more artists to venture into film production. This portion of the Festival will showcase feature films as well as documentary and short films from around the world.

f. Women Filmmakers: A selection of full-length feature films as well as short length and documentary films by female filmmakers will be screened at this year’s DIFF. An independent jury of female filmmakers, cultural experts, artists, and professionals will be appointed by the Festival Committee to judge this portion of the competition. One award will be made for Best Director in the Women Filmmakers Category. The award will be in the form of a certificate and a crest.

g. Spiritual Films Section: This section is being introduced to promote public discourse on the place of faith and spirituality in the human context. The idea is for viewers to distinguish between elements of identity in spirituality as opposed to the abuse of faith in fundamentalism. The showcasing of films on spirituality would promote greater cross-cultural understanding and tolerance and facilitate dialogues within communities as between communities.

One documentary and one fiction film will be selected independent Jury, appointed by the Festival, will adjudicate. Prizes will be awarded to the directors of the winning films. The award will be in the form of a certificate and a crest.

Women Filmmakers Conference: During this year’s festival the festival committee is planning to invite around 25 to 30 women filmmakers, actors and personalities from all over the world to hold a conference on “2nd International Conference on Women Cinema”.

This will also serve the purpose of a platform that will address issues concerning women through the work being done by the invited panel of women guests. Given that women compose half of humanity and the inherent importance and relevance of women’s issues in global progress, it is high time that such a conference is convened in a country like Bangladesh, more so as the world is going through enormous changes on all fronts having both positive and negative implications for women. Having said this, I would also mention that this conference will serve as the heart of our upcoming festival.

5th Dhaka Cine Workshop: In order to educate future film activists the festival is going to organize the 5th Dhaka Cine Workshop from January 16 to 21, 2016. This is a parallel event designed to utilize the ambiance, resource and coming together of cine professionals as well as creative talents, old and new. The Workshop will be an intensive week-long academy with creative professionals from diverse fields of the film industry as speakers and moderators.