Short film ‘Darkak’ has been officially selected for screening at two major international film festivals.
The film will be screened in April 2025 at the 10th Toulouse Indian Cinema Festival.
It is also set to screen at the 14th South Asian Film Festival of Montreal.
‘Darkak’ will be shown in Toulouse at 2 pm on April 24 at the Chemin de la Beauté Multipurpose Hall.
The festival, running from April 23 to 27, is one of France’s key platforms for South Asian cinema.
Darkak is one of 13 short films selected for competition, with entries also contending for both the Jury Award and the Audience Award.
Notable films in this year’s lineup include Village Rockstars 2 by Rima Das, The Mehta Boys by Boman Irani, and Pooja, Sir by Deepak Rauniyar.
The festival also includes the documentary Farming the Revolution by Nishtha Jain.
Following its screening in France, Darkak will also compete at the 14th South Asian Film Festival of Montreal.
This will take place in theatres from April 24 to May 4, and continues online from May 1 to 10.
At the festival, Darkak will be one of 23 short films competing for Best Short Film, while 26 feature films will contest for Best Feature.
Inspired by a short story by acclaimed Bangladeshi writer Shahidul Zahir, Darkak follows the emotional journey of Torab Sheikh.
He is an elderly man who feels increasingly isolated due to his lack of financial contribution to the family.
When his daughter is married off without his consent, Torab chooses to vanish.
It is only after his disappearance that his family begins to understand the value of his presence.
Veteran actor Jayanta Chattopadhyay leads the cast, supported by Aminur Rahman Mukul, Iqbal Hossain, Tuntuni Sobhan, Fazlul Haque, and Tahuya Labib Tura.
Other cast members include ABM Saidul Haque, Zerin Akhtar Shimul, and Akhlakuzzaman Khan.
The film’s screenplay and dialogue were written by Siddiki himself. He also produced the project under his Homo Reflector Productions banner.
Syed Shahzada Al-Karim, Israt Jahan, Sakib Iftekhar, and Hasib Shakil were the executive producers.
Darkak has already been selected by 16 international film festivals in 10 countries.
It won Best Film at the 6th Hill Film Festival in Bangladesh. It also earned a Special Jury Award at the 10th Shimla International Film Festival in India.
