Rajib Rafi’s short film “Once Upon a Time in Wari Bateshwar” will be featured in the Panorama Section of the Toronto Multicultural Film Festival in Canada from August 24 to 29, 2025.
The film had earlier been officially selected for the competition segment of France’s Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, the country’s second-largest festival after Cannes, and later competed at Italy’s San Gio Verona Festival.
“Once Upon a Time in Wari Bateshwar” is a magical-realist narrative blending the strange and the uncanny. Shot entirely with a drone, the film offers a unique visual perspective that highlights both the depth and beauty of its setting.
The story explores the hidden lives and landscapes surrounding Wari-Bateshwar, one of Bangladesh’s oldest archaeological sites.
Rajib Rafi, who also wrote the story, makes his directorial debut with this short film. Produced under the Khona Talkies banner by Ashiq Mostofa, with Adnan Ahmed as co-producer, the cast includes Imtiaz Niloy, Shailen Pal, Sabikun Nahar Kakon, Shyamal Shishir, Toto Timothy, Dipankar Deep, Md Jony, and Nazim Uddin.