The main event of the 17th International Inter University Short Film Festival is set to begin on September 21 at the Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) of the University of Dhaka.

Dhaka University Film Society (DUFS) is arranging the event in partnership with the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Dhaka, UNDP Bangladesh, and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

Campus screening tours taking selected films across several university campuses in Bangladesh is already underway ahead of the main event.

About 1269 films from student filmmakers in 92 countries were submitted in this year's edition. The festival jury board has selected top 200 films for its official screening programme.

Founded in 2007 with the slogan ‘Take Your Camera, Frame Your Dream,’ IIUSFF aims to provide a platform for student filmmakers from Bangladesh and abroad and promote cross-cultural exchange through cinema.

This year, the festival has introduced 'Reels of Resistance’ as a flagship category, featuring films addressing human rights, civic resistance, gender justice, displacement and community resilience.

The festival’s cultural visual theme is inspired by Baul Gaan, drawing on the pluralistic and anti-hierarchical traditions of Baul culture and connecting folk heritage with contemporary cinematic expression.

The selected films are being presented in four categories — Competition for films under 15 minutes, Panorama for films over 15 minutes, One Minute Short and Reels of Resistance.

Awards include the Zahir Raihan Best Short Award, Tareque Masud Best Emerging Director Award for Bangladeshi student filmmakers, Best One Minute Short and Best Reels of Resistance Award, along with several technical honourable mentions.

As part of its nationwide screening initiative, IIUSFF has already held screening sessions at Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University in Trishal on Sept 8-9, Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology on Sept 14, Gazipur Agricultural University in Gazipur on Sept 16 and Jahangirnagar University in Savar on Sept 17.

Post-festival screening sessions will also be held at Cumilla University, Rangamati Science and Technology University and Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University in the week following the main event.

At TSC, public screenings will run from 10am to 9pm each day from Sept 21 to 23, featuring the selected films, discussion sessions.

On Sept 23, DUFS will organise a panel discussion titled ‘Film, Memory, and the Politics of Hope: Witnessing Injustice, Preserving Truth and Imagining a Just Future.’

The discussion will focus on documentary archives, the evidentiary boundaries of film and transitional justice.

Norwegian Ambassador to Bangladesh Håkon Arald Gulbrandsen, UNDP Bangladesh Resident Representative Stephen Rodriques and Romana Schweiger, Senior Advisor on Rule of Law and Human Rights at UNDP, are scheduled to join the discussion alongside independent filmmakers and human rights practitioners.

The closing ceremony will feature the announcement of the award winners and a live Baul music performance.

The festival will conclude with a screening of the top 15 short films at Star Cineplex, Bashundhara.

All screenings and panel sessions at TSC are free and open to the public, organisers said.