The 17th Fukuoka Independent Film Festival (FIDFF) opened today at the Fukuoka Art Museum Museum Hall, showcasing 19 competition films and invited works from Japan, Bangladesh, Korea, and India. Among the highlights is Tenement of Secret Talk by Bangladeshi filmmaker Abu Shahed Emon. Running from October 3–5, 2025, this year’s festival embraces the theme “GOOD DAYS: Bursting Dreams, Seventeen”, celebrating its 17th edition with screenings, post-show discussions, and networking opportunities for professionals, students, and enthusiasts of independent cinema.
Founded in 2009, FIDFF has become a prominent platform for independent filmmakers in Japan and abroad, fostering exchange through screenings and dialogue. The 2025 line-up includes competition titles such as Goodbye Raifutei, My Father is Afraid of Water, Analog Boy and the Visiting Old Woman, Grandma’s Moving Day, LOCA! Gemini, A Premonition of a Story, and Becoming a Kappa.
Among this year’s selections is Tenement of Secret Talk, a Japanese-language jidaigeki (period drama) by Bangladeshi filmmaker Abu Shahed Emon. Developed through the Kyoto Filmmakers Lab under the Kyoto HISTORICA International Film Festival and filmed at Kyoto’s Shochiku Studio, the film follows a masterless samurai who, while waiting for his reward, encounters a mysterious bottle of sake and an enigmatic tale about a stone rumored to hold secrets.
The film has established a strong footprint on the Japanese festival circuit, with screenings at the Karatsu International Film Festival (2025), Hokkaido International Film Festival (2024), Iwatsuki Film Festival (2025), Niigata Indies Movie Festival (2024), Kumagaya Ekimae Short Film Festival (Excellence Award, 2025), Tsukuba Short Movie Competition (Runner-Up Prize, 2025), Tachikawa Meigazadori Cinema Festival (10th edition, 2024), Nasu Short Film Festival (2024), Hakodate Harbor Illumination Film Festival (2024), and Tokyo Arts Center Japan Video Grand Prix (2024). Beyond Japan, it was selected for India’s South Asian Short Film Festival (SASFF, 2024) and screened at the Japanese Film Festival Arizona (2024) in the United States.
Abu Shahed Emon previously directed Jalal’s Story (2014), the first Bangladeshi film to compete in Busan’s New Currents section. He also produced Sincerely Yours, Dhaka (2018) and No Ground Beneath the Feet (2021), which, alongside Jalal’s Story, represented Bangladesh at the Oscars in 2016, 2020, and 2023. His producing credits further include Komola Rocket (2018), Damal (2022), Paap Punyo (2022), Beauty Circus (2022), Roktojoba (2023), A House with No Names (2023), and Jaya Aar Sharmin (2025). He has also directed shorts such as The Container (2012), Arai Mon Shopno (2020), and the web series Mercules (2023).
Festival committee member Katsuichiro Ota said this year’s competition features “memorable works exploring family, friendship, individuality, minorities, and disability.” Representative Sachiko Harada noted that films “move hearts and inspire emotions that cannot be put into words,” adding that even in its 17th year, the festival continues to honor independent cinema with the same passion as its early days.
Related topic: Abu Shahed Emon Bangladeshi director Abu Shahed Emon
