13th International Inter University Short Film Festival
Dhaka University Film Society (DUFS) in association with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), presents the 13th edition of the International Inter University Short Film Festival (IIUSFF). It is a festival that aspires to promote and inspire the work of young university going filmmakers with the slogan ‘Take Your Camera, Frame Your Dream’.
In 2007, International Inter-University Short Film Festival started its journey with the goal to provide a platform for the young and talented student filmmakers in Bangladesh and overseas to showcase their talent. Over the years, it has succeeded in creating a name of its own and to work as a cross-cultural platform to portray the different styles and dimensions of young university-going filmmakers throughout the world.
Theme:
Being an international platform, the International Inter-University Short Film Festival aims to feature a native art form of Bangladesh in order to introduce the world with the country’s incredibly rich culture and history. In this edition, the 13th IIUSFF is showcasing the ‘Nakshi Kantha’ or embroidered quilt.
One of the most traditional forms of art practiced in different parts of Bangladesh, Nakshi Kantha refers to well-worn clothes that feature ‘naksha’ or artistic patterns, sewn by rural women. The quilts provide a canvas to these artisans to weave their thoughts, aspirations and stories into each colourful design and find a home for their creative expressions. Every Kantha gracefully embodies the rural women’s sense of agency and incorruptible artistic vision.
There are stories of the victims of the 1971 Liberation war who lost all desire to live after suffering the atrocities of the Pakistani army and who were nursed back to life only after being given a thread and a needle. Nakshi Kantha was thus not only a leisure activity for these rural women but also a means of survival — the last ray of hope that they desperately held onto.
As a filmmaker designs his story, starting from scratch, to be ultimately transformed into a coherent form on the big screen, the same dogged pursuit is found in the little circles of rural women who huddle together and needle away for weeks or even months, for the sake of their art.
In light of our age-old craft tradition and the historical significance of embroidered quilts, the 13th IIUSFF’s main theme has been set to be Nakshi Kantha – a relic of our glorious past and a promise of better days on our horizon.
Winners in different categories
