Busan Winner and Bangladesh's Oscar entry 'Boli' heads to European Film Market

Indywood Distribution Network has acquired international sales rights for "The Wrestler ("Boli"), Bangladesh's official submission for the 97th Academy Awards in the international feature film category, and the top prize winner at the Busan International Film Festival.

The company will introduce the film to buyers at the European Film Market (EFM), which runs alongside the Berlin International Film Festival, reports Variety. 

With a strong presence in major industry events such as Cannes, Mipcom, and Hong Kong's FilMart, Indywood aims to secure global distribution for the critically acclaimed feature.

Directed by Iqbal H. Chowdhury, "Boli" follows Moju (Nasir Uddin Khan), an aging fisherman and former wrestling trainer, who challenges local champion Dofor (AKM Itmam) after becoming frustrated with his dwindling fishing fortunes. Meanwhile, Moju's son Shafu (Angel Noor) and his newlywed wife Rashu (Priyam Archi) grow increasingly concerned about his mental and physical well-being as he embarks on this intense pursuit.

"In leaving much of his story up to intuition — and taking a climactic turn toward the surreal — Chowdhury crafts a scrupulous slow-burn drama about a kind of obsession that, despite being opaque, comes off as entirely tragic," wrote Siddhant Adlakha in his "Variety" review of the film.

Shyam Kurup, director of Indywood said to Variety, "Having worked with leading distributors and platforms worldwide, we believe we can elevate film's visibility and commercial success on the global stage."

Writer-director Iqbal H Chowdhury also shared his excitement about the film's journey. "Participating in the European Film Market is an incredible opportunity to bring The Wrestler to the right audience worldwide. We are immensely grateful to team Indywood for taking on this challenge."