European Film Festival brings stories of Europe to Dhaka
A modest but thoughtful edition of the European Film Festival 2025 brings stories of change, movement, and uncertainty to Dhaka’s winter screens
The year is drawing to a close. The winter breeze has settled over Dhaka, and with it has arrived a thoughtful celebration of cinema.
The European Union in Bangladesh has brought back the European Film Festival 2025. It opened on 4 December at Bangladesh Shishu Academy and continued across three venues until 7 December.
The festival feels modest in scale considering its scope, but its intent is steady. It aims to open a space where audiences can watch films that explore change, movement, and uncertainty.
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This year's theme is "In Transition". At the opening ceremony, the Ambassador of the European Union to Bangladesh, Michael Miller, said that the theme speaks to personal, social, and environmental shifts.
He noted that these ideas echo the current moment in Bangladesh as well. He also reflected on the festival's long history. Since 1985 it has carried European diversity and creative energy to audiences around the world. He said the four days would offer stories that show a shared love for cinema and a desire for cultural dialogue.
The festival also hoped to encourage young film makers through workshops and a mobile based short film competition.
Eleven films were screened across Alliance Française de Dhaka, Goethe-Institut Bangladesh, and Tareq Memorial Auditorium in Mymensingh. Two of these were Bangladeshi films: Foul and Nishi.
I visited Alliance Française de Dhaka on 6 December. Three films were shown that day — The Animal Kingdom from France, Foul from Bangladesh, and Under the Volcano from Poland. The room filled slowly, with students, regular festival goers, and enthusiasts taking seats.
The Animal Kingdom stood out for its quiet mood. Directed by Thomas Cailley, it is a science fiction film that leans towards drama. The story is set in a near-future France where a mysterious disease causes people to mutate into animals.
These individuals are kept in secure facilities and are treated with a mix of fear and detachment. At the centre of the film is François, played by Romain Duris. He is a man trying to care for his teenage son after his wife becomes one of the "bestioles".
The son, Émile, appears to be slowly transforming as well. Much of the film lingers on their strained bond. The film has moments of tension, yet it holds back from becoming a full genre spectacle.
It raises questions about identity and belonging, though these ideas arrive late and leave only a faint trace.
The Bangladeshi film Nishi tells a very different story. Based on a script by Golam Rabbani, the film has been made jointly by Rabbani and Zahirul Islam. It was produced with support from the European Union Bangladesh, Green Film School Alliance, and UNESCO Dhaka.
The story follows a young girl from a tea worker community. Her education ends because of a water crisis. A local timber trader then tries to exploit the family's hardship by offering to install a tube well in exchange for marrying her.
The film observes the situation with a steady eye. It shows how pressure builds around a child who has little room to speak for herself.
Foul, another Bangladeshi short directed by Evan Monawar, was screened on the opening day. It tells the story of a girl who wants to become a footballer. She faces mockery and social judgement — but the story is not only about obstacles.
It is also about the will to move forward.
The festival remained faithful to its theme. It showed that transition is often slow, sometimes fragile, and always shaped by the people who live through it. It closed its curtains on 7 December at BRAC University.
