‘Roid’, ‘Mastul’ among six films to be screened free at Shilpakala Academy festival

Film enthusiasts will have the chance to watch six acclaimed Bangladeshi films, including "Roid" and "Mastul", on the big screen free of charge as the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy hosts a three-day film festival next week.

Organised by the academy's Theatre and Film Department under the slogan "Cinema for Everyone, Art and Culture for Everyone", the "Cholochhitro Utshob: Ekal Shekal" (Film Festival: Then and Now) will be held from August 9 to 11 at the National Art Gallery Auditorium.

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The festival will open on August 9 at 5:00 pm, followed by a screening of "Roid” directed by Mejbaur Rahman Sumon, at 6:00 pm. Zahir Raihan's classic "Jibon Thekey Neya" will be screened later that evening at 8:00 pm.

On August 10, audiences can watch Khan Ataur Rahman's "Abar Tora Manush Ho" at 5:30 pm, followed by Mohammad Nuruzzaman's recently released "Mastul" at 8:00 pm.

The final day of the festival, August 11, will feature Amjad Hossain's "Dui Poysar Alta" at 5:30 pm, while Akash Haque's "The University of Chankharpul" will close the festival with an 8:00 pm screening.

According to the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, all screenings are open to the public without tickets, allowing audiences to enjoy both contemporary and classic Bangladeshi cinema free of cost.

Ahead of the festival, a seminar titled "Now and Then of Cinema in the Contemporary Context" will be held on August 7 at the academy's Theatre and Film Department seminar room.

The discussion will be chaired by Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Director General Rezauddin Stalin, while Policy and Strategy Adviser to the Ministries of Information and Broadcasting and Cultural Affairs, Dr Zahed Ur Rahman, will attend as the chief guest.

The keynote paper will be presented by Aktanin Khayer Tanin. Filmmakers Matin Rahman, Shaheen Dil-Riaz, Mohammad Nuruzzaman and SM Imran Hossain, along with Bangladesh Federation of Film Societies president Zahirul Islam Kochi, will take part in the discussion.