Women filmmakers section features 28 films
16 January, 2019
Women Filmmakers Section is one of the major sections featured by the ongoing Dhaka International Film Festival (DIFF). The section, featuring 28 films by women makers from different countries, testifies to women's progress in and contributions to the film industry and women's ability to portray not only women issues but also political, historical and social issues through films.
'Dhaka International Film Festival has long been giving importance to women filmmakers by having a different section exclusively for women makers. Moreover, the festival has been organising international conference on women in cinema for the last five editions of the festival,' said festival director Ahmed Muztaba Zamal. 'One feature and a documentary film will be given awards from the section,' added Zamal.
Films by women makers from countries like Italy, Belgium, Croatia, Greece, Bangladesh, Finland, Iran, India, Norway, Palestine, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Turkey, America and England are being screened under the section. Local maker Leesa Gazi's documentary 'Rising Silence', which depicts the plights of Biranganas (war-heroines), is one of the documentaries featured in the section. The documentary had its premiere at the festival on Saturday.
Among other documentaries are Brazilian director Iara Lee's documentary 'Burkinabe Bounty', which features agricultural resistance of West African people for food sovereignty, Italian maker Lia Marianna Beltrami's documentary 'Alganesh' is another documentary featuring the fates of refugees.
Indian maker Avani Rai's documentary 'Raghu Rai (An Unframed Portrait)' is a documentary on the beautiful, but militarized land Kashmir. Among feature films there are Iranian maker Pegah Arzi's family drama 'Nabat' and Cypriot director Tonia Mishiali's 'Pause' portraying the plight of a woman in an oppressive marriage, British maker Fateme Ahmadi's 'Bitter Sea' featuring a single mother's fight to raise her child.