SADI MOHAMMAD SHAHNEWAZ, from Cannes

During a reception at her residence in Dhaka last year, French Ambassador to Bangladesh Marie Masdupuy said, “I hope to see Bangladeshi films here every single year.”

The event celebrated Adnan Al Rajeev’s Ali being selected for the Short Film Competition at the 78th Cannes Film Festival. While the team tempered expectations, Marie described the nomination itself as a victory.

When “Ali” received a Special Mention, it marked a breakthrough for Bangladeshi cinema. At Cannes, the honour signifies that a film has survived one of the world’s toughest selection processes and come within touching distance of the top prize. More importantly, it proved Bangladeshi filmmakers could compete on cinema’s biggest stage.

Yet, standing on the Croisette yesterday for the opening of the 79th Cannes Film Festival, that optimism was difficult to sustain. Rather than building on last year’s momentum, Bangladesh arrived with almost no institutional presence.

The absence feels particularly striking because this year’s Cannes offers a rare opening for emerging film industries. With several major American studios scaling back their traditional footprint, attention has shifted further toward international and independent cinema. Japan, this year’s Country of Honour, has become a major focal point, while Asian cinema more broadly occupies an increasingly central place in the global conversation.

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