Zainine Karim wins Best Actor award at IFFSA Toronto

Bangladeshi actress Zainine Karim Chowdhury has won the Best Actor (International Feature) award at the 2026 International Film Festival of South Asia (IFFSA) Toronto for her lead performance in “The Difficult Bride”, directed by Rubaiyat Hossain and produced by Khona Talkies.

The festival was held in Toronto from October 8 to 18. IFFSA is part of the South Asian Screen Council of Canada (SASC Canada), one of North America’s largest platforms for South Asian cinema.

In “The Difficult Bride”, Zainine portrays a woman whose inner turmoil intensifies as family expectations, personal desires and control over her own body come into conflict. The IFFSA jury specifically praised the fearlessness and physical intensity of her performance.

Commending her seamless transitions between vulnerability, suppressed anger and defiance, the jury noted that her portrayal anchors the film’s exploration of womanhood, oppression and resistance.

The award adds another major achievement to an impressive year for the film. The Difficult Bride has previously screened at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, the BFI London Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival.

Set in a traditional beauty parlour in Dhaka, the film follows a bride-to-be who grows increasingly frustrated with the repeated grooming and makeover rituals arranged by her family. As the pressure mounts, her body itself becomes a site of resistance.

The film features Zainine Chowdhury Karim, Rikita Nandini Shimu, Sunerah Binte Kamal, Azmeri Haque Badhon, Damer Khan, Shatabdi Wadud, Saberi Alam and Mohammad Bari.