Film ‘Darkak’ to be screened in 2 fests in France, Canada

April 23, 2025

Jayanta Chattopadhyay in a scene from film ‘Darkak.’

Entertainment Desk :

Independent Bangladeshi filmmaker Zayed Siddiki’s short film titled ‘Darkak’ has officially been selected for competition at two prestigious international film festivals in France and Canada, said a press release.
The film is set to be screened later this month at the 10th Toulouse Indian Cinema Festival in France and the 14th South Asian Film Festival of Montreal in Canada.
Among 13 short films selected this year, ‘Darkak’ will compete
for both the Jury Award and the Audience Award.
The screening is scheduled for 2:00pm on April 24 at the Chemin de la Beauté Multipurpose Hall in Toulouse.
Running from April 23 to 27, the Toulouse Indian Cinema Festival is regarded as one of the key platforms for South Asian cinema in France.
This year’s competition includes 10 feature films and 13 short films. Selected entries include ‘Village Rockstars 2’ by Assamese
filmmaker Rima Das, ‘The Mehta Boys’ by Boman Irani, ‘Pooja, Sir’ by Nepali director Deepak Rauniyar, and ‘Farming the Revolution’ by Nishtha Jain.
Meanwhile, the Montreal South Asian Film Festival will be held from April 24 to May 4 in theatres, and from May 1 to 10 online. At this festival, ‘Darkak’ will vie with 22 other short films for the Best Short Film award, alongside 26 features in the Best Feature Film category. Inspired by a short story by renowned Bangladeshi writer Shahidul Zahir, the screenplay and dialogues of ‘Darkak’ were written by director Zayed Siddiki himself.
The film revolves around Torab Sheikh, an elderly man who feels increasingly neglected due to his inability to contribute financially. When his daughter is married off without his knowledge, Torab, deeply humiliated, chooses to disappear-only for his family to realise his significance after his absence.
Veteran actor Jayanta Chattopadhyay plays the lead role, with supporting performances by Aminur Rahman Mukul, Iqbal Hossain, Tuntuni Sobhan, Fazlul Haque, Tahuya Labib Tura, ABM Saidul Haque, Zerin Akhtar Shimul, and Akhlakuzzaman Khan. ‘Darkak’ was produced by the director himself under the banner of Homo Reflector Productions. Syed Shahzada Al-Karim, Israt Jahan, Sakib Iftekhar, and Hasib Shakil served as executive producers.