Bangladeshi short film Untongue, directed by young filmmaker Golam Rabbani, has been officially selected for screening at the Waterloo Film Festival (WFF) in Durban, South Africa. The festival will be held from July 4 to 6 .
Confirming the news, director Rabbani said, “The festival authorities appreciated my film and officially invited me to attend the screening. It’s a great honour to have my work shown before an international audience in South Africa.”
This year’s festival will showcase 82 films and 16 musical films from different countries. Among them, Untongue will represent Bangladesh on the global platform.
The short film was completed earlier this year and tells a timely story focusing on freedom of speech and the fundamental right to express one’s thoughts. Since its release, Untongue has been screened at several local and international festivals, earning praise from viewers and critics alike.
Earlier, it received an Honourable Mention at the Venice Intercultural Film Festival. It was also featured at the Hill Film Festival, BUFT Film Fest, Independent Film Festival, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Film Festival, Jagannath University Film Festival, and the Mobile Film Festival.
The cast of Untongue includes Mizanur Rahman, Prasun Azad, Chandana Biswas, Zainal Abedin, and Manik Saha.
Director Golam Rabbani is already known for his previous work Chhurat, which received a Special Mention in the Spiritual Film category at the 22nd Dhaka International Film Festival.
Rabbani’s upcoming short films Stitch Life and Nishi are now awaiting release.
The filmmaker expressed hope that Untongue’s participation in the South African festival will inspire other
independent filmmakers in Bangladesh to dream bigger and tell bold stories.
