About

About LBFF

The UK's leading showcase for Bengali-language cinema, and the largest Bengali film festival in the world outside of Bengal itself.

Founded in 2016 by British Bangladeshi filmmaker Munsur Ali, the festival was built on a simple but powerful idea: that the stories of the Bengali diaspora deserved to be seen, celebrated and brought to a mainstream audience. Nine editions later, that mission is more urgent than ever.

Each year LBFF curates a programme of feature films, documentaries and shorts drawn from Bangladesh, West Bengal and the global Bengali diaspora, films that speak to the more than 10 million Bengalis living outside South Asia. We are a unifying platform for both Bengals, a space where the cinemas of Dhaka and Kolkata sit side by side, and where British Bengali stories find the audience they deserve.

The festival runs across five days of screenings, talks and special events, culminating in a red carpet awards ceremony.

“LBFF is more than a film programme. It is the unifying voice of both Bengals, a rare space where the cinemas of Dhaka and Kolkata speak to each other, and to the millions of Bengalis who call cities like London, New York and Toronto their homes.”

Munsur Ali, Founder & CEO

Our team

Munsur Ali

Founder & CEO

Munsur Ali is a British Bangladeshi film producer and social entrepreneur. A Council Member of the City of London Corporation, he serves as immediate past Chairman for Culture, Heritage and Libraries, sits on the board of the Barbican Centre, and is a board member of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

His debut feature Shongram (2019) was the first British film simultaneously written, produced and directed by a British Bangladeshi. He is the founder of the Limelight Film Awards, Chairman of Moringa Productions and an Honorary Fellow at Queen Mary University of London.

Subidita Bhattacharya

Festival Director

Festival Director of LBFF for the past three years, Subidita brings extensive expertise in film exhibition, programming and cultural event delivery. She holds an MA in Film Marketing & Distribution and also programmes for Raindance.

Her career spans international sales at Cannes and production management on a Netflix docu-series. She is currently Producer for an ACE-funded dance-theatre R&D centred on neurodiversity and South Asian girlhood.

Dilruba Yasmeen Ruhee

Programme Director

Dilruba Yasmeen Ruhee is a Bangladeshi actress, model and fashion designer. Born in Dhaka, she built her career across television, film and fashion in Bangladesh and West Bengal, appearing in productions spanning both Dhallywood and Tollywood.

Her film credits include Shongram, Glamour opposite Parambrata Chatterjee, and several acclaimed Bangladeshi features. She made her television debut in an adaptation of a Rabindranath Tagore story.

Novera Rahman

Head of Marketing and Partnerships

Novera Rahman looks after community outreach and marketing for the festival. She is also Chief Executive Officer of Moringa Productions, the film and television production arm of Moringa Group and sister concern of LBFF, where she oversees the full slate of projects from development through to delivery.

Arafat Kirty

Technical Director

Arafat Kirty is a London-based sound designer, live sound engineer and mixing and mastering engineer with over a decade of experience across feature film, music and cultural performance.

His work spans internationally distributed Bangladeshi feature films, television and soundtrack productions, including projects recognised at the Bangladesh National Film Awards. He also specialises in large-scale live cultural production and South Asian musical performance.