Online Desk:  Renowned Bangladeshi film critic, screenwriter and journalist Sadia Khalid Reeti has been invited to the Fipresci (International Federation of Film Critics) jury at the upcoming 77th Cannes Film Festival, one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world in which she was a jury member before in 2019 when she became the second Bangladeshi to receive this honour.

A Screenwriting graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Reeti has served as a jury member at different international film festivals in Italy, India, England, Nepal, France, Russia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. She also served as a Fipresci jury at the Bengaluru International Film Festival, International Film Festival of Kerala and Dhaka International Film Festival (DIFF), and is currently serving as the Co-Convenor of the West Meets East Screenplay Lab at DIFF, one of the leading script development labs in the country.

Reeti became Bangladesh’s first international voter for the Golden Globe Awards in 2022. A Berlinale Talents alumna, she attended prestigious mentorship programs with Film Independent and Locarno Open Doors.

Alongside her responsibilities as the Cultural Editor of Dhaka Tribune, one of the leading English dailies in the country, Reeti teaches film studies at different universities and institutions. She is a recipient of the Charles Wallace Fellowship from the British Council, as a part of which she trained in surreal filmmaking at the British Film Institute in 2023.

Regarding her return to Cannes, Reeti said: “Cannes is the biggest and most prestigious film festival in the world. It’s an incredible honour to be invited back. Having our film critics on the jury board more often will enable us to convey our cultural point of view and help world cinema move away from its Eurocentric lens.”

“The invitation always arrives so late that it’s difficult to arrange the visa and other necessities with a green passport,” she said about her travel preparations. “The festival has grown so much over the years that it’s now a logistical nightmare trying to find suitable lodging. Hopefully, when more of us participate in such festivals, the authorities will keep provisions to reduce the stress.”

From Bangladesh, Ahmed Muztaba Zamal was the first Fipresci jury at Cannes in 2002, 2005, and 2009. Reeti came next in 2019, followed by Bidhan Rebeiro in 2022. They joined as members of the IFCAB (International Film Critics Association of Bangladesh).

The 77th annual Cannes Film Festival is due to take place from 14 to 25 May 2024. American filmmaker and actress Greta Gerwig will serve as jury president for the main competition, and the main competition at Cannes will include veteran filmmakers like Coppola, Audiard, Cronenberg, Arnold, Lanthimos, Sorrentino, Abbasi and so on this year.