Chief Guest of Today’s programHon’ble Foreign Minister Dr. A. K. Abdul Momen

Excellencies,

Distinguished participants,

Ladies and Gentlemen

As-salamuAlaikum, Adab and Good Afternoon,

It is a great honour and delight for me to be present amongst you in inaugurating the “the 18^th Dhaka International Film Festival”.

Just yesterday Bangladesh started countdown the centenary birth anniversary of the father of the Nation BangabandhuSehikMujibur Rahman. The whole nation is embarking on celebrating the “Mujib Year”. Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been chalking out many programmes for taking off this celebration to all directions beyond the geographical boundary of Bangladesh. I am very happy to consider this “Dhaka International Film Festival” as a true prelude to our humble effort.

Distinguished guests

As my little understanding goes,  cinema is a media of mass communication that could permeates a greater section of audience as a popular source of entertainment. It is an influential form of art, a popular source of entertainment, and a powerful method for educating and inculcating values and ethos in the human society. Within a short span of time, the audience indulge themselves in an audio-visual sphere wherein they could connect themselves to different experience of their own real life fraught with all sort of human emotions.Through portrayal of an incident or a character cinema fundamentally juxtaposes plethora of true human struggles - internal or external -  and with those the audience associate their own predicament of life.

Dear Friends

If I am not wrong the subject matter of movies often go beyond the reflection of life. It also embracesour mother-natureincluding all living and non-living beings. Through the film we could promote sustainable development, heighten true passion of the patriotism and motivate to work for humanity. Obviously, as all art forms do, film is also to rekindle the conscience of us and tends to refine the human behaviour. Therefore. it is important that film is produced for the welfare of the society.Keeping these ideas in mind, the Dhaka International Film Festival (DIFF) has opted the theme “Better Film, Better Audience and Better Society”. I am confident that it has been doing justice to its motto.

Dear Friends from abroad, 

As the chief patron of the event I am very encouraged to see a big congregation of movie connoisseurs around the world.  Let me welcome you all in Bangladesh. I am sure you will find a country – an inclusive Bangladesh - where distinct ethnicity and culture evolved over millennia through the interactions of various races and nationalities and ethnic and linguistic groups.  You would be able to appreciate the rich cultural heritage of Bangladesh. At the same time, we will have the opportunity to enrich ourselves by interacting with your intellectual mind. 

Ladies and Gentlemen

Dhaka International Film Festival tries to present us the excellent movies around the globe. This festival has been organised on a regular basis by Rainbow Film Society, which has been dedicated to the promotion of a healthy cine culture in Bangladesh since 1977.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Ministry of Information, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh National Museumand all others who have actively supported to make it happen.

Finally, my heartiest greetings go to the organisers of the 18th Dhaka International Film Festival and distinguished participants.

I wish the “18th Dhaka International Film Festival”a grand success.