Dhaka, Jan 09 (V7N)- The 24th Dhaka International Film Festival (DIFF) is set to begin on Saturday, January 10, with the slogan “Aesthetic Films, Contemplative Audiences, Enlightened Society.” The nine-day festival will run until January 18 and will feature a special attraction this year—open-air film screenings on the sea beach of Cox’s Bazar.

The organizers shared detailed information about the festival at a press conference held at the Dhaka Club in the capital on Thursday.

Organized by the Rainbow Film Society, this year’s edition of the festival will screen 245 films from 91 countries, showcasing a diverse range of international cinema.

Films will be screened at several venues in Dhaka, including the Main Auditorium and Poet Sufia Kamal Auditorium of the National Museum, the Main Auditorium of the National Art Gallery and Theatre of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Alliance Française Dhaka, and Stamford University Bangladesh. In addition, open-air screenings will be held at Laboni Beach Point in Cox’s Bazar, an initiative supported by the Bangladesh Tourism Board.

All film screenings will be open to the public free of charge, although seating will be limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The festival will be inaugurated by Information and Broadcasting Advisor Syeda Rizwana Hasan at 4:00 pm on January 10 at the National Museum Auditorium. The opening film will be “Wu Jin Zhi Lu” (The Journey to No End), directed by renowned Chinese filmmaker Chen Xiang.

The closing ceremony will take place on January 18 at the same venue, with Cultural Affairs Advisor Mostafa Sarwar Farooqui attending as the chief guest. Award-winning films of this year’s festival will be screened on the final day.

END/SMA/AJ