At the press conference for the Eighth edition of the Dhaka Lit Fest, which originally began as Hay Festival in 2011, Dr. Kazi Anis Amhed, said: “I am confident that through this literary gathering, we have managed to present Bangladesh to the world.”
Among those who are coming to the festival this year are, British-Pakistani writer Mohammad Hanif and other Booker and Pulitzer Prize winners.
“The Indian film on Pakistani writer, Saadat Manto, will premiere in Bangladesh and Indian film actress plus director of the film, Nandita Das, will talk about her experiences,” said Kazi Anis.
“The Dhaka Lit Fest is known globally and therefore, the Cambridge Short Story Authority has chosen this platform to launch the short story prize.”
They will declare the prize for the first time from the Lit Fest platform, he added.
Kazi Anis, who is also a writer, said that that international literary magazine, Granta, will be involved as a partner of the festival for the second time.
We are working to take Bengali classics to the world and, to fulfil that target, translation of noted works is going on, said Anis, calling the Lit Fest ‘a symbiosis between Bengali tradition and world literature.’
Open to all, the three-day literary extravaganza will feature movies, art and photography exhibition and more than 90 sessions.
In the last eight years, 330 guests from 50 countries came to the Dhaka Lit Fest.
This time English actor, Tilda Swinton, is coming because she has featured adult education in Bangladesh in one of her films. The shooting will be done in Bangladesh.
At the event, editor of Dhaka Tribune, Zafar Sobhan, gave the welcome speech, saying: “The arrangement of such an event is a testament to the overwhelming success of the mass media.”
BRAC Bank’s senior vice president, Zara Mahbub Khan, said: “BRAC Bank is the bank of the masses and we are proud to be associated with such a prestigious international event.”
This time, women’s rights will be highlighted and many issues including me too campaign that has and is stirring the world will also be discussed.
This is absolutely scintillating, she exclaimed.
Administrative director of Bangla Academy, Dr. Mujahid warned about security and said: “Entry with bags larger than 5-7 inches is banned.”
Since work is underway for the metro rail, car parking will be problematic, he cautioned.