
The seventh edition of Dhaka DocLab was held virtually online from 18th August to 8th September. Due to the challenging situation financially, the board of management of the organization decided to shift the whole event online. More than 60 projects from 12 countries have been submitted this year. Among them, 25 projects from seven countries of Asia Pacific- Bangladesh, India, Nepal, New Zealand, China, Kazakhstan, & Jordan finally participated in this workshop in two different categories, development category projects & rough cut/work-in-progress projects. The selected projects went through an intensive mentoring workshop from 18-22 August, followed by two days of online pitching sessions on August 31 & 1 September, with back-to-back speed meetings with decision makers from 4-6 September. The closing of this year’s DDL was held in a hybrid format, where the organizers and Bangladeshi participants gathered at the Bangladesh Film Archive. Participants from overseas, partner organizations, tutors, and decision-makers joined virtually. Several awards were declared at the program by both partner institutions and organizers of the forum in Bangladesh. The awarded projects are:
- DocEdge New Zealand Award (Scholarship)- Land of the Displaced, Dir: Kirsty Wells & Fayed Masud Khan, Bangladesh
- DocEdge Kolkata Award (Scholarship)- Opekkha, Dir: Kazi Arefin Ahmed, Bangladesh
- Global Film & Media Initiative Award (2,000 EURO)- The Last Shephard, Dir: Anil Budha Magar, Nepal
- International Emerging Film Talent Association (IEFTA) Award (2000 Euro)- Opekkha, Dir-Kazi Arefin Ahmed, Bangladesh
- Adhunika Award (2,000 USD)- The Erosion, Dir: Anusree Roy, Bangladesh.
- Dhaka DocLab Best Project Bangladesh (1,00,000 BDT), Echoes Within, Dir: Shakti Banik, Bangladesh, with support of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.
- Dhaka DocLab Best Project South Asia (1,50,000 BDT)- Weavers Birds Nest, Dir: Rahul Rabha & Alvina Joshi, India, with support of Cosmos Foundation.
Trustee of Liberation War Museum Mr. Mofidul Hoque, Managing Director of Black Mirror Films Mr. Mokhlesur Rahman Talukdar, Director of Dhaka DocLab Mr. Tareq Ahmed & Trustee Syed Imran Hussain Kirmany were present in this event. Mr. Nasir Uddin Yousuff Bachchu, Chairman of Dhaka DocLab presided over the event.