5th
West Meets East (WME) Screenplay Lab 2027
The 25th Dhaka International Film Festival (DIFF) will be held in Dhaka from 09 to 17 January 2027 organized by Rainbow Film Society. The general theme of the festival is Better Film, Better Audience and Better Society. During the 25th DIFF, West Meets East (WME) Screenplay Lab returns for its 5th edition, taking place from January 12–15, 2027.
Lab’s
Framework
WEST MEETS EAST Screenplay Lab, now
in its 5th edition, is Bangladesh’s only dedicated feature-length fiction
screenplay development lab, and a key platform within the Dhaka International Film Festival. for nurturing emerging Asian
filmmakers through a structured, mentorship-driven development process.
The process begins much earlier than
the festival itself. From the initial open call, filmmakers submit their
projects with key development materials, including a logline, synopsis,
treatment, director’s statement, and director’s profile along with portfolio
work. Based on these primary submissions, a jury board carefully evaluates and
selects the top ten projects.
Following this primary selection,
the selected projects are required to submit their full screenplay within a
specified deadline. Failure to meet this requirement will result in automatic
disqualification from the selection process, and the project will no longer be
eligible to participate in the lab.
Once finalized screenplays are
submitted, these ten projects enter a focused development period of up to two
months, during which filmmakers continue refining and completing their scripts.
After this stage, the projects are forwarded to a group of mentors.
The mentors comprising experienced
industry professionals such as producers, writers, directors, editors, and film
specialists spend around two months reading and analyzing the scripts in
detail. This leads into the main lab phase during the Dhaka International Film
Festival, where selected participants and mentors meet physically over four
days at a designated venue.
During the lab, mentors engage in
in-depth one-to-one and group mentorship sessions with the participants,
offering detailed creative and structural feedback to further refine each
project. The entire process is highly collaborative and development-focused,
aiming to strengthen each screenplay at its core narrative level.
At the end of the lab, the
participants present their projects in a final pitching session in front of the
jury board, invited film producers, and representatives from OTT platforms.
After careful evaluation of both the developed screenplays and the pitches, the
jury selects the top three projects.
These three winning projects receive screenplay development funding from DIFF: 5 lakh BDT for the first prize, 3 lakh BDT for the second, and 2 lakh BDT for the third, supporting their journey toward becoming fully realized feature film projects.
Primary
Submission Requirements
Applicants must submit the following
materials:
- Logline
(Max 50 words)
- Synopsis
(Max 400 words)
- Director’s Statement
(Max 400 words)
- Treatment
(Max 2000 words)
- Director’s Profile
(Max 250 words)
- Portfolio
with necessary access (Google
Drive / Vimeo / YouTube / Personal Website)
Eligibilities
and Entry rules:
- The director must be a citizen of an Asian country
(by birth).
- The project must be a feature-length fiction film.
- The project must be an original story.
Adaptations are not accepted.
- Use of AI
for writing, idea generation, or direct translation is strictly
prohibited.
- The director’s presence is mandatory during the
lab. Producers/writers may attend but are not mandatory.
- The applicant must be fluent in English.
(Minimum B2 level)
- By submitting, you confirm that you are able to physically
attend the lab in Bangladesh (Jan 12–15, 2027) at your own travel
expense. (NB: The Lab will provide local hospitality and accommodation
[food & hotel] during the 4 days of Lab.)
Timeline
- Primary Submission Opens: April 30, 2026
- Primary Submission Deadline: June 30, 2026
Only for the selected projects
- Screenplay Writing Period: September 1 – October 31, 2026
- Lab Dates:
January 12–15, 2027
We strongly encourage early submissions to avoid last-minute issues.
We look forward to discovering the next wave of visionary filmmakers across Asia.
Co-Conveners
Aka Reza Ghalib
Aka Reza Ghalib is a filmmaker by choice, TV program maker by profession, and computer scientist by training, Aka Reza Ghalib essentially considers himself a film activist. His first feature-length film, “Dangling by a String”, participated in a number of international festivals. His next film, a short fiction “Headless”, won an award as Best Human Rights Film at an international film festival. An avid reader he also teaches filmmaking, at different universities, which he considers a part of his activism.
His similar activities include working as an Advisor to a UNICEF Project titled “Enhancing Child Participation through One Minute Junior Video”. He also acts as a mentor for the project “Challenging Visual Depiction of Women and Sexual Violence in Southasia” spanning four South Asian countries and funded by the Southasia Trust based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He was a Jury Member for the Liberation Docfest Bangladesh.
Sadia Khalid Reeti
Sadia Khalid Reeti studied Screenwriting at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Currently the Showtime Editor of Dhaka Tribune, Sadia served as a jury member at international film festivals in Italy, India, England, Iran, Nepal, France, Russia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. She served as a FIPRESCI jury at Cannes, Kerala, Bengaluru and Dhaka. She is the first international voter for the Golden Globe Awards from Bangladesh. She attended mentorship programs like Berlinale Talents, Film Independent, Locarno Open Doors and British Council’s Charles Wallace Fellowship. Co-convener of West-Meets-East Screenplay Lab and Film Haat, she also teaches screenwriting at different universities.