Culture Desk
The official opening of International Inter-University Short Film Festival (IIUSFF) will be held online from June 6-7. Dhaka University Film Society (DUFS), in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is set to inaugurate the 12th edition of the festival.
Starting its journey back in 2007, the goal of IIUSFF has been to provide a platform for university-going students to materialize their cinematic vision, and to celebrate the growing arena of independent filmmakers from all over the world.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, the restrictions posed on public gathering and the health risks involved, DUFS has decided to postpone all of its physical events including the screening sessions. Rather, they will be taking the festival online, following the trend of this year’s major global festivals.
The online opening will feature the screening of award winning and officially selected short films from previous editions of IIUSFF in five slots.
An online live discussion session on the theme of ‘Filmmaker in conversation with Film Journalist/Critic’ will be arranged. Notable Bangladeshi film critic, scholar and journalist Sadia Khalid Reeti will be featured along with renowned film-maker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki.
The International Affairs Secretary of DUFS, Shiyan Shahriar said: “Our original plan was to inaugurate the screenings of the 12th IIUSFF on the World Refugee Day, followed by a set of screening sessions around the country and abroad. As coronavirus continues to affect our lives and leave a trail of destruction across the country, we had to rethink our course of action.”
“We will rather go online with our festival this year and hopefully bring top notch short films, curated from all over the world by esteemed judges, to our audiences at home,” he added.
The call for entry of 12th International Inter University Short Film Festival (IIUSFF) started on January 24, 2020 and concluded on April 24. 2583 short films from 106 countries including 373 submissions in the Short Film on Refugee category have been received.
The event page of the 12th edition of IIUSFF includes the schedule and more details about the upcoming festival.
