Dhaka, Broadcasting News Corporation: Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Advisor on Information and Broadcasting, said that in this conflicted and divided world, culture can build bridges between people. Cultural bonds are strengthened through international film festivals. Opportunities to understand each other are created through people’s common hopes and aspirations, values, and exchange of knowledge.
On Saturday (January 10, 2026), during her speech as the chief guest at the inauguration ceremony of the 24th Dhaka International Film Festival at the National Museum Auditorium in Dhaka, the advisor said these things. Organized by the Rainbow Film Society under the slogan ‘Aesthetic Films, Reflective Audience, Enlightened Society,’ this nine-day international film festival is being celebrated at various venues in Dhaka from January 10 to 18.
The advisor mentioned that international film festivals could also be organized at the divisional level outside Dhaka to reach more audiences.
For the first time, festival films are being screened in Cox’s Bazar, and upon hearing this, the advisor said that it is certainly encouraging. However, caution must be exercised to avoid excessive lighting decoration and the use of single-use plastics. Attention must definitely be paid to environmental protection. Inquiring whether any environment-themed films are among the domestic and international films to be screened at the festival, the advisor urged the organizers to arrange for the screening of one or two environment-based films. He wished the overall success of the film festival. The event, chaired by Jalal Ahmed, Chairman of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission and an executive member of the festival committee, also featured speeches by Croatian UK-based filmmaker Aleksandra Marković and Li Xiaopeng, Cultural Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy. Festival director Ahmed Mujtaba Jamal expressed gratitude to all concerned for their support at various stages. The opening film of the festival was the Chinese director Chen Xiang’s film ‘Wu Jin Zhi Lu’ (The Journey to No End).