Adnan Al Rajeev’s ‘Ali’ nominated at Asian Academy Creative Awards

Bangladeshi filmmaker Adnan Al Rajeev's acclaimed short film "Ali" has secured a nomination in the Best Short Form (Scripted) category at the upcoming Asian Academy Creative Awards 2025.

The film will compete against Australia's "Moonbird", China's "The Leopard Cat Scholar", Hong Kong's "The Lines in My Head", Indonesia's "Pura-Pura Nikah (Fake Marriage)", Japan's "MICE MEDIA: Lessons in Internet Literacy – Is That Picture Real?", Malaysia's "LK School Daze: Hormone Harmonizer", the Philippines' "GMA Integrated News Eleksyonaryo: The Dapat Totoo Digital Exclusives", and Singapore's "Lucky Lucky!".

Running 15 minutes, "Ali" tells the story of a teenage boy in a conservative coastal town where women are banned from singing. Gifted with a voice that can mimic a woman's, he secretly enters a citywide singing competition — an allegory for identity, self-expression, and the struggle for visibility in a restrictive society. Director Rajeev has described the film's central theme as "voice as identity, visibility, and resistance". 

The short film premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, where it became the first Bangladeshi production to earn a Special Jury Mention. Since then, it has screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival, earning praise for its bold narrative and cultural resonance.

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