Bangladesh Reaches Venice Milestone with ‍‍`The Difficult Bride‍‍`

Bangladeshi cinema has achieved a historic milestone as writer, director and producer Rubaiyat Hossain's fourth feature film, The Difficult Bride, has been selected for the Horizons (Orizzonti) Competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival.

The selection marks the first time a Bangladeshi feature film has been included in an official competition section at the Venice Film Festival, one of the world's most prestigious cinematic events.

The festival's 83rd edition will take place in Venice, Italy, from September 2 to 12, where The Difficult Bride will have its world premiere.

Founded in 1932, the Venice International Film Festival is the world's oldest film festival. Its Horizons (Orizzonti) section is internationally recognised for showcasing innovative filmmaking, emerging cinematic languages and bold artistic visions.

Previously, Bangladeshi filmmaker Ishtiaq Zico's short film 720 Degrees was selected for the Horizons (Orizzonti) section in 2010. However, The Difficult Bride is the first full-length Bangladeshi feature to earn a place in the section.

A psychological horror film, The Difficult Bride is set in Dhaka's historic Mayfair Beauty Parlour. The story follows Zaineen, a young woman who visits the salon to prepare for her wedding but gradually finds herself drawn into a disturbing and mysterious reality where beauty, the body, memory, faith and fear become deeply intertwined.

The film stars Zaineen Chowdhury Karim in the lead role, alongside Rikita Nandini Shimu, Sunerah Kamal, Shatabdi Wadud, Saberi Alam and Mohammad Bari. National Award-winning actress Azmeri Haque Badhon and Damir Khan make special appearances.

Filming was completed over 26 days between June and July 2025. Post-production took place in Paris and Lisbon, while the film's final sound mix is currently being completed in Paris under Rubaiyat Hossain's supervision.

French production company Les Films de l'Après-Midi serves as the lead producer, with co-producers from Bangladesh, Portugal, Norway and Germany. International sales are being handled by Films Boutique.

The project received support from several leading international funding bodies, including Eurimages, France's CNC, Portugal's ICA, Italy's Fondazione Prada Film Fund, Norway's Sørfond and Germany's World Cinema Fund.

Notably, The Difficult Bride was one of only 14 projects selected from more than 1,200 submissions to the Fondazione Prada Film Fund, and the only project to receive support during its post-production stage.

Another distinctive feature of the production is that women led almost every major creative department, with the exception of the composer. Four women associated with the film are recipients of Bangladesh's National Film Award: director Rubaiyat Hossain, actresses Azmeri Haque Badhon, Rikita Nandini Shimu and Sunerah Kamal.

The film brought together cast and crew from Bangladesh, India, the United States and several European countries. Its cinematographer is Portugal's Leonor Teles, the Berlin International Film Festival Golden Bear-winning filmmaker.

Reacting to the Venice selection, Rubaiyat Hossain said:

"A film is born through the years of hard work, sacrifice, patience, creativity and love of many people. I am deeply grateful to our entire team, cast, co-producers and collaborators. I thank Almighty Allah for this blessing. We have made this film with years of dedication, love and faith. I ask everyone to keep us in their prayers so that our efforts are rewarded and this achievement opens the door to even greater possibilities."

The film's Venice delegation will include director Rubaiyat Hossain, lead actress Zaineen Chowdhury Karim, actresses Rikita Nandini Shimu, Sunerah Kamal and Azmeri Haque Badhon, along with actor Damir Khan. The festival will announce the screening schedule for the film's world premiere at a later date.