A Dhaka beauty parlour, a troubled bride and a childhood fear have taken Bangladesh to one of the world’s biggest film stages.
Rubaiyat Hossain’s The Difficult Bride has made its historic Venice debut as the first Bangladeshi feature-length film to participate in the Venice International Film Festival.
According to the film’s team, the film premiered in the Orizzonti competition at the festival’s 83rd edition on Saturday, 5 September. The section, known for new cinematic languages and innovative filmmaking, selected 19 feature films this year. Its world premiere was held at 7pm at Sala Casino in Palazzo del Cinema, followed by a second screening at Sala Darsena on Sunday at 2:15pm local time, or 6:15pm Bangladesh time. Two more screenings are scheduled for Monday, 7 September, at 4:30pm at Astra 2 and 5pm at Astra 1. The festival runs until 12 September.
The film team also made a lively entrance at the screening, with videos from inside the hall showing audiences clapping and cheering for the team. Some viewers were also seen giving the film a standing ovation, adding to the excitement surrounding its Venice debut.
Set around a traditional Dhaka beauty parlour, the film follows a bride-to-be who grows frustrated with her family’s relentless attempts to change her appearance. Her resistance eventually emerges through her own body.
Hossain developed the idea for almost 20 years, drawing on a childhood beauty-parlour story and her fear of crying brides at weddings. “Through the film, we wanted to question what we understand by beauty,” she said.
The predominantly women-led crew includes cinematographer Leonor Teles, lighting technician Frederica R Gomes, editor Raphaëlle Martin-Holger and production designer Jonaki Bhattacharya. Hossain said the film challenged the notion that women cannot make good cinema.
Zaineen Chowdhury Karim makes her acting debut as the lead after working as an assistant director on the film for 18 months. The cast also includes Rikita Nandini Shimu, Sunerah Binte Kamal, Azmeri Haque Badhan, Dameer Khan, Shatabdi Wadud, Saberi Alam and Mohammad Bari. Shimu is making her second Venice appearance, while Badhan and Dameer make guest appearances.
The France-Portugal-Norway-Germany-Bangladesh co-production, made with Khona Talkies, received support from Eurimages, France’s CNC and Cinema du Monde, Portugal’s Instituto do Cinema e do Audiovisual, Italy’s Fondazione Prada Film Fund, Norway’s Sørfond and Germany’s World Cinema Fund.
Hossain expects further premieres across Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East this year, with a Bangladesh release expected next year.
