The eighth edition of Dhaka Literary Festival (DLF)- popularly known as Dhaka Lit Fest began amid much enthusiasm and fanfare in the Abdul Karim Sahitya Bisharad Hall of Bangla Academy in the City on Thursday.
Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor inaugurated the function as the chief guest around 11:30am.
Producer and Director of DLF 2018 Sadaf Saaz and other two Co-directors of the event, K Anis Ahmed and Ahsan Akbar, also spoke on the occasion along with Pulitzer Prize-winning Author Adam Johnson and Noted Indian Director Nandita Das.
Minister Asaduzzaman Noor praised the efforts of the hosts and said, DLF always holds principles that promotes secularism and diversity.
The ruling government is always keen to extend support for sectors like art and culture, he added.
He said also that events like DLF should be encouraged because it will help our youths to grow a culture of contemplation rather than ignorance.
DLF Director Sadaf Saaz said, they started the festival in 2011 to have a platform to showcase the best of Bangladeshi literature and culture to the world, and bring the best of the world to Bangladesh by great thinkers, writers, and creative personalities.
“Indeed, over the past eight years, we have had 325 international speakers from nearly 50 countries. Dhaka Lit Fest has evolved
from a small gathering of 600 to an event of thousands who come to listen and take part in the varied conversations and debates-on everything from poetry to current affairs, and fiction to philosophy, ” Sadaf said.
During her brief speech, Noted Indian Director Nandita Das thanked the organizers for arranging such an extraordinary event on literature.
Pulitzer Prize winning author Adam Johnson resonated with her in his speech.
Meanwhile, a Kathak Dance segment was held during the inaugural session followed by a dialogue session featuring Adam Johnson, David Biello, James Meek, Nisid Hajari and Courtney Hodell.
Around 300 speakers, authors and poets including Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, Mohammad Hanif, Tilda Swinton and Manisha Koirala are participating in over 90 sessions of DLF.
Main attractions of the Dhaka Lit Fest include dialogue sessions covering literature and art, film screening, book launching and several cultural performances.
The festival will continue from 9 am to 7:30 pm in each day till November 10.
The 8th Dhaka Lit Fest is hosted by Bangla Academy with Dhaka Tribune and Bangla Tribune as the Title Sponsors, while Brack Bank is the key sponsor along with British Council, a strategic partner of the event.
