DIFF 2026 to host first-ever open-air screenings on Cox’s Bazar beach

For the first time in its history, the Dhaka International Film Festival (DIFF) will host open-air film screenings on the shores of Cox’s Bazar, marking a significant expansion of Bangladesh’s largest international film festival.

The open-air screenings will take place at the Laboni Beach Point from January 10 to 18 as part of the 24th edition of the festival, organisers announced on Thursday (January 8). The screenings, organised with support from the Bangladesh Tourism Board, will be open to the public free of charge.

The 24th Dhaka International Film Festival 2026 will be held simultaneously in Dhaka and Cox’s Bazar from January 10 to 18. Organised by Rainbow Film Society, this year’s festival carries the slogan “Nandanik Chalachitra, Mononshil Darshok, Alokito Shomaj” (Aesthetic films, discerning audience, enlightened society).

As in previous years, the festival will feature a wide range of sections, including Asian Film Competition, Retrospective, Wide Angle, Bangladesh Panorama, Cinema of the World, Children’s Film Session, Women Filmmakers, Short and Independent Film, Spiritual Film and Open-Air Bioscope. A total of 245 films from 91 countries will be screened during the nine-day festival.

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Festival details were announced at a press conference held on Thursday afternoon at Dhaka Club. Festival director Ahmed Muztaba Zamal delivered the welcome address, acknowledging the persistent challenges faced by film festivals in Bangladesh.

“Every year we plan many things, but budgetary constraints prevent us from achieving much of it,” he said. “There is funding for cricket, funding for band music—but when it comes to cinema, there is hardly any support.”

The press conference was chaired by senior journalist Rafiquzzaman and attended by Bangladesh Tourism Board CEO Nuzhat Yasmin, Dhaka Club director Md Ehsanul Hoque Dipu, Enigma Multimedia Limited CEO Fahmidul Islam Shantanu, Filipino filmmaker Editha Z. Caduaya, film critic Sadia Khalid Reeti, Bidhan Rebeiro and artist Lutfa Mahmuda.

The festival will officially open on January 10 at 4 pm at the main auditorium of the Bangladesh National Museum. The chief guest at the opening ceremony will be Information and Broadcasting Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan. Special guests include Croatia-UK-based filmmaker Aleksandra Markovic and Cultural Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh, Li Xiaopeng. The ceremony will be presided over by Jalal Ahmed, chairman of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission and executive member of the festival committee.

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The opening film will be Chinese director Chen Xiang’s “Wu Jin Zhi Lu” (“The Journey to No End”). The opening ceremony will begin with a cultural performance by the group “Theatrical Company O Jal Taranga”.

Screenings in Dhaka will be held at the Bangladesh National Museum’s main and Kabi Sufia Kamal auditoriums, National Art Gallery and main auditorium of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Alliance Française de Dhaka auditorium and Stamford University Bangladesh auditorium, alongside the Cox’s Bazar beach screenings. All screenings will be free and open to the public.

As part of the festival, the “12th Dhaka International Conference on Women in Cinema 2026” will take place on January 11 and 12 at the Samsung Lounge (third floor) of Dhaka Club. The conference will focus on women’s roles in cinema, addressing professional barriers and pathways forward. 

The conference will be inaugurated on January 11 by Adviser to the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, Sharmeen Soneya Murshid. Special guests include Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam, ActionAid Bangladesh Country Director Farah Kabir and Dhaka University professor Dr Tania Haque. Chaired by Professor Kishwar Kamal, the conference will begin at 9:30am with a cultural programme.

The festival will also host the “West Meets East Screenplay Lab” from January 11 to 14. Expanded this year to include filmmakers from across Asia, the lab will select 10 projects for four days of mentorship and industry engagement. Participants will pitch their projects to producers, distributors and OTT representatives at the FilmHaat Marketplace. The lab will be held at the Vintage Convention Hall in Dhanmondi, with cash prizes of Tk 5 lakh for best screenplay, Tk 3 lakh for second place and Tk 2 lakh for third.

The festival will also feature its fourth Masterclass, scheduled for January 17. Sessions will be led by Swiss film magazine Cinebulletin editor-in-chief Theresa Vena, Croatian filmmaker Aleksandra Markovic and Bangladeshi filmmaker and production designer Liton Kor.

An art exhibition will run from January 9 to 17 at the 3D Art Gallery of the Bangladesh Military Museum, showcasing selected works by 10 renowned Bangladeshi artists. Curated by artist Lutfa Mahmuda, the exhibition aims to explore the intersection of cinema and visual art.

The festival will conclude on January 18 at the Bangladesh National Museum auditorium, with Cultural Affairs Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki as chief guest. The closing ceremony will be presided over by Jalal Ahmed, followed by the screening of the festival’s best award-winning film. Music at the closing event will be performed by Ahmed Hasan Sunny.

As in previous editions, the festival is supported by the Ministries of Information and Broadcasting, Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs, Cultural Affairs and Finance, along with the Bangladesh Tourism Board, the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka, ActionAid and SMC. Festival partners include the Bangladesh National Museum, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Alliance Française de Dhaka, Dhaka Club Limited, Stamford University Bangladesh, 3D Art Gallery, Vintage Convention Hall, Haugesund International Film Festival, Religion Today Film Festival, Shanghai International Film Festival, Channel i, OTT platform Doyel, Sense for Wave and CloudLive.