At the 42nd jury meeting of the Berlinale World Cinema Fund (WCF), a total of twelve international film projects hailing from various countries including Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Mexico, Panama, Sudan, Tunisia, Ukraine, and Venezuela have been chosen to receive funding.
Among the selected projects is the Bangladeshi feature film “Suraiya,” helmed by Robiul Alam Robi and backed by Ratherhood Initiatives Ltd, which has secured a production grant of €40,000 (equivalent to Tk 55 lakh). Fazle Hasan Shishir is the producer of the film.
The WCF jury had the task of choosing from a pool of 236 project submissions representing 63 nations. The current funding round encompasses €525,000 allocated to twelve production grants and two distribution grants, in addition to an extra €40,000 designated for the TUI Care Foundation Award.
Expressing his excitement, producer Fazle Hasan Shishir stated, “We are thrilled to reveal that our movie ‘Suraiya’ has been granted production funding by the Berlinale World Cinema Fund 2025. In this year’s selection, ‘Suraiya’ is in the company of a diverse array of international projects spanning Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe.”
He further commented, “This acknowledgment by the World Cinema Fund is a significant milestone for Ratherhood Initiatives Ltd, underscoring our dedication to narrating stories deeply rooted in Bangladesh yet with universal appeal.”
Prior to this achievement, “Suraiya” had been chosen for the Asian Project Market 2023, Produire au Sud Dharamshala Lab 2023, and the Tasveer Film Market 2024.