Talented Bangladeshi independent filmmaker Zayed Siddiki’s latest short film “Darkaak” (RAVEN) has been selected for three notable international film festivals.

As one of the only 12 hand fully picked films, “DarKaak” (RAVEN) is set to captivate Australian audience at the 15th Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, where it will be exclusively streamed on the festival’s online platform, IFFM365, from 15 to 30 August, having its Australian premiere. The film will compete for the Best International Short Film award at the 10th International Film Festival of Shimla, taking place from 16 to 18 August at the historical Gaiety Theater Complex in Shimla, India. Furthermore, DarKaak will vie for both the Best Short Jury and the Audience Awards at the 13th DC South Asian Film Festival, scheduled from 13 to 15 September in the heart of the USA’s capital, having its North American premiere.

Inspired by a short story by the esteemed writer Shahidul Zahir, the screenplay and the dialogue is written by the director Zayed Siddiki. The film portrays an elderly man, dependent on his family members, grappling with an existential crisis. At some point, regarding an important family decision, he realises his unimportance. This realisation leads him to withdraw from the family and become rebellious and aimless.

Veteran actor Jayanto Chattapadhyay played the lead role in the film along with acclaimed actors Aminur Rahman Mukul, Iqbal Hossain, Tuntuni Sobhan, Fazlul Haque, Tahua Labib Tura and ABM Saidul Haque.

According to the director, the film was made from a very personal feeling. “It’s a very personal film that highlights the negligence we show towards our senior citizens and the helplessness they experience when we devalue them. All of us will become irrelevant at some point, but that doesn’t make us worthless” said Zayed Siddiki, the director of the film.