The Global Youth Film Festival Bangladesh (GYFFB19) is going to be held in Mymensingh this year with the slogan 'Let's Cinema!' Filmmakers will be present at the auditorium of the city's Shilpakala Academy from September 5 to 7, organized by Bangladesh Film Society.
Organizers are expecting 74 films from across the country and the world and also several international producers to attend the festival.
About 1700 films made by young people from 101 countries of the world have been submitted to the International Competition Division of the festival. The eight award winning films will be announced based on the judgment of the judges on September 7.
Producer Mostafa Sarwar Farooqi is the judge of the International Film Department of the festival, along with Fipresci (International Federation of Film Critics) member Sadia Khalid and Iranian filmmaker Morteza Farshbaf who were the judges at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival.
Hemanta Sadiq, producer and young filmmaker of the festival, said that since last festival, the organising committee of the Global Youth Film Festival Bangladesh has introduced an award named Hiralal Sen, the pioneer of films in Bengal and the Indian subcontinent.
This year, hundreds of films of Bangladeshi youth have been submitted in the 'Hiralal Sen Best Bangladeshi Film' category. The judges of this division are the filmmaker Nurul Alam Atiq, film teacher Zahidur Rahman Anjan and the renowned architect Enamul Karim Nizhar.
Apart from this, a filmmaking workshop will be held as part of the festival with the participation of 50 filmmakers from all over the country. Where Golam Rabbani Biplob, Prasun Rahman, Jasim Ahmed, vocalist Sadat Hossain will be present as instructors.
General Secretary of Cinema Bangladesh Jisan Mahadi said it was the third event of Cinema Bangladesh after successfully organizing two festivals in Lakshmipur and Rangpur. It is planned to be organized in other regions of the country in phases.
Out of the competition, three full-length films will be featured in the 'Invited Films' category.
Festival coordinator Asma Akhtar Liza said, in the meantime there has been a lot of response to the festival in Mymensingh. Producers from all corners of the globe are sharing the news of their film being selected on social media, expressing interest in coming to Mymensingh. The young people of the region are very excited about this.
Festivals and other information can be found at cinemabangladesh.org. Organizers informed that no fee is required to watch the films being screened at the festival.
