Bangladeshi filmmaker Zayed Siddiki’s short film “Darkaak” (Raven) has been officially selected for the competition in two notable diaspora film festivals in France and Canada.
The film will be screened at the prestigious “10th Toulouse Indian Cinema Festival” in France and at the “14th South Asian Film Festival of Montreal” (SAFFM) in Canada.
Among only 13 chosen short films competing for both the Jury Prize and Audience Award, “Darkaak” will be screened on Thursday at 2:00pm at Chemin de la Butte Multipurpose Hall in Toulouse, France. The Toulouse festival, which will run from 23–27 April, is a key event showcasing South Asian cinema in France, with 10 feature films and 13 shorts competing this year.
Similarly, set from 24 April to 4 May (In cinemas), May 1-10 (Online) in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the South Asian Film Festival of Montreal will feature Darkaak among 22 short films (fiction & documentary) vying for the Best Short Film Award, alongside 26 feature films in competition.
Inspired by a short story by acclaimed writer Shahidul Zahir, the screenplay and dialogue of “Darkaak” were written by Zayed Siddiki.
Veteran actor Jayanto Chattopadhyay plays the lead. The film also stars Aminur Rahman Mukul, Iqbal Hossain, Tuntuni Sobhan, Fazlul Haque, Tahua Labib Tura, and ABM Saidul Haque, with debut performances from Jerin Akter Shimul and Akhlaquzzaman Khan.
Bd-pratidin English/ Afia
