Rubaiyat Hossain's The Difficult Bride Is The First Bangladeshi Feature To Premiere In Venice Film Festival

Acclaimed Bangladeshi filmmaker Rubaiyat Hossain has made history as her latest feature, The Difficult Bride, has become the first Bangladeshi full-length feature selection to premiere in Venice Film Festival's Orizzonti Competition. The narrative follows Zai, a bride-to-be in present-day Dhaka who is in love with her groom and dreams of a fairytale wedding, but secretly struggles with her body’s resistance to wedding rituals. As stress and emotional pain intensify, a mysterious woman with long hair begins appearing in Zai’s imagination.

This is Hossain’s fourth feature. The feminist supernatural drama stars newcomer Zaineen Chowdhury Karim in the lead role, alongside Rikita Nondine Shimu and Sunerah Kamal in supporting roles. Azmeri Haque Badhan and Dameer Khan make guest appearances, while veteran actors Shatabdi Wadud, Saberi Alam and Mohammed Bari also feature in key roles.

The Difficult Bride is produced by France’s Les Films de l’Après-Midi, in co-production with Portugal’s Midas Filmes, Bangladesh’s Khona Talkies, Norway’s Barentsfilm and Germany’s Tandem Production. The film’s producers are François d’Artemare, Pedro Borges, Rubaiyat Hossain, Aadnan Imtiaz Ahmed, Ingrid Lill Høtgun and Anna Katchko. In December 2025, she told Variety that it has been “a film 21 years in the making". Hossain first attempted The Difficult Bride as a short film in 2006 before shelving it, returning to the material repeatedly across two decades. The Difficult Bride has had a stellar production journey, feted with several grants, including Berlinale's World Cinema Fund. It also received post-production support from the inaugural Fondazione Prada Film Fund, whose other recipients entail Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Laura Citarella, Eduardo Williams.

Hossain said: “A film is born from the long years of work, sacrifice, patience, creativity and love of many people. I am deeply grateful to our entire team, our actors, crew members, co-producers and collaborators.” The film is shot by Leonor Teles, the Portuguese filmmaker and Golden Bear winner whose recent work includes Baan (2023). Production design comes from Jonaki Bhattacharya (Venice winner Labour of Love), while the score is composed by James Williams, best known for his work on Raw (2016) and Titane (2021). Hossain's previous feature, Made in Bangladesh (2019) played Toronto, Locarno, swept Amiens and won Torino and Tromsø. It also bagged four National Film Awards in Bangladesh.

In 2010, Ishtiaque Zico’s short film 720 Degrees, produced by Khona Talkies, emerged the first Bangladeshi short to screen in Venice's Horizons section. The Difficult Bride's selection marks a full circle moment. Films Boutique has already boarded the international sales of The Difficult Bride.

Venice Film Festival 2026 runs Sept. 2-12.