Eminent Indian artist Anjan Dutt, who is perhaps more famous in Bangladesh as the troubadour of troubled love than a prolific filmmaker in Kolkata’s film industry, made his debut at the Dhaka International Film Festival on Saturday.

Unlike Ranjana, his audience didn’t have to hear that he won’t be back.

Anjan’s latest feature, ‘Finally Bhalobasha’ was screened as part of the ongoing 18th DIFF on Saturday afternoon at the National Museum’s main auditorium.

The filmmaker then attended a special Director’s Presentation followed by Q&A session, where he talked about the presentation of the story, his storytelling and several aspects of the film with members of the audience and journalists.

“I want to see my stories of my films being different from others, so I try to play with my audiences with my storytelling and narratives,” Anjan said on his approach to filmmaking at th3e post-screening session.

Talking about Finally Bhalobasha, he said: “The stories depicted in this film are fragmented but connected- so as the stories of our lives. The movie is a compilation of three stories related to three diseases - Insomnia, Arthritis and HIV, so the characters expressed themselves in dark and brooding tone as the victims of these painful illnesses- however, as the stories unfold further and and connections between the characters are revealed we learn how unconditional love can heal people from inside.”

The eminent filmmaker thanked the organizers of the festival, Rainbow Film Society for arranging and inviting filmmakers from all around the globe.

He also thanked them for showcasing Finally Bhalobasha at DIFF, the first time he was participating in a Bangladeshi film festival with one of his films.

It had to wait till the 24th time he directed one. Finally Bhalobasha was theatrically released on 8 February 2019. The movie features an ensemble cast with Raima Sen, Arjun Chakrabarty, Anirban Bhattacharya, Arindam Sil, Sauraseni Maitra and as is often his wont in one of his films, Anjan Dutt himself.

His son Neel Dutt is the music director of Finally Bhalobasha

"Ip Man 4," the latest installment in the Chinese martial arts film franchise "Ip Man" based on the life of a legendary Wing Chun master, led the Chinese mainland box office Wednesday, according to the China Movie Data Information Network Thursday.

The film raked in 13.57 million yuan (about 1.97 million U.S. dollars), with its total box office revenue reaching over 1 billion yuan.

Set in the 1960s, the new film sees Donnie Yen reprising the title role as the kung fu master who travels to the United States to work with Bruce Lee after the latter decides to open a Wing Chun school.

It was followed by the Chinese thriller "Sheep Without a Shepherd," which grossed about 13 million yuan on its 34th day of screening.

Chinese comedy "Adoring" ranked third with ticket sales of 10.9 million yuan.

The Sixth edition of ‘Dhaka International Conference on Women in Cinema’, as part of Dhaka International Film Festival’s 18th edition, concluded on Monday with a declaration that proposed a goal to increase the worldwide number of women filmmakers by fifty percent within 2020.

The ongoing Dhaka International Film Festival features some of its recurring and acclaimed segments, and the conference again enthralled the film enthusiasts like the previous years, as part of those recurring festivities.

The two-day long international conference was held at the Dhaka Club Samson Lounge in the city which focused on major issues and possible solutions concerning women in the film industry in both national and international sphere.

Focusing the objects such as improving the standard and content of women based cinema and create interaction among the women who are involved in the medium of cinema through exchanging ideas and sharing diverse experiences, a total of six keynote papers were presented in this two-day international conference.

The first day was observed with the presentations on three keynote papers- ‘Recognition of Women Professionals: On and Off the Lens’ by Fatima Amin, faculty of film and television department, Jagannath University; ‘Hard Won Lessons’ by Hannah Fisher, international film programmer, festival director and activist from Toronto, Canada; and ‘New Trends in Feminist Films from South Asia’ by Meenakshi Shedde, journalist and award-winning film critic based in Mumbai, India.

On Sunday, the conference began with three other keynote papers - ‘Reaching Out and Linking Arms Around the World’ by Sydney Levine, trainer/ educator, writer and consultant for festival, international sales and financing strategies from Los Angeles, USA; ‘Bangladeshi Women's Contribution in the Technical Fields of Cinema’ by Chaitali Somadder, independent film-maker, editor and instructor from Dhaka, Bangladesh and ‘TahaderKotha: the Binaries between Public-Private: Depiction of Refugee Women Breadwinners in Post-Partition Bengali Cinema (1950s to 1970s)’ by DrDebjaniHalder, independent filmmaker and film research officer, Film and Television Institute of India, Pune.

The closing and declaration ceremony was presided over by the conference director Sydney Levine followed by Liberation War Museum Trustee Mofidul Hoque.

Rainbow Film Society initiated this international conference as part of the on-going 18th Dhaka International Film Festival 2020, which began in Dhaka on January 11 and will continue till January 19.

Sikder Group has signed a sponsorship agreement of Tk 5 crore to make a full-length film titled ‘Chironjib Mujib’.

The film will be made based on the autobiography of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, said a press release.

The main plot of the movie will be taken from “Unfinished Autobiography”.

The production of this film is being sponsored by Sikder Group, National Bank and PowerPac Holdings Ltd jointly.

The production of this film is being sponsored by Sikder Group, National Bank and PowerPac Holdings Ltd jointly, mentioned the press release.

Ron Haque Sikder on behalf of Sikder Group, PowerPac Holdings Limited and National Bank Limited signed the sponsorship agreement on Saturday evening at Sikder Haus, Banani in the capital.

According to the agreement, the income from the commercial use of the film, exhibition and advertisement of this film will be donated to the Bangabandhu Memorial Trust.

Chief Operating Officer of Chief Operating Officer, SQ Islam Mohon, DMD of National Bank Limited A.S.M. Bulbul, among other senior officials of Sikder Group were also present in the ceremony.

Chinese comedy film "Adoring" remained number one at the Chinese mainland box office Saturday, according to the China Movie Data Information Network Sunday.

The film raked in nearly 23.6 million yuan (about 3.4 million U.S. dollars) on its twelfth day of screening, accounting for about 18 percent of the daily total.

"Adoring" revolves around six warm stories about pets and their owners during different ages and their journeys to find and appreciate love.

It was followed by "Ip Man 4," the latest installment in the Chinese martial arts film franchise "Ip Man" based on the life of a legendary Wing Chun master.

The film grossed about 23 million yuan, with its total box office revenue reaching over 1 billion yuan.

"Sheep Without a Shepherd" ranked third with ticket sales of about 22.2 million yuan. The film has also grossed more than 1 billion yuan since its release.