Bangladeshi filmmaker Ishtiaq Ahmed Jihad’s debut feature film, The Blind Girl and An Elephant (Sankota Dulchhe), has been selected for the International Feature Film Competition at Russia’s 24th International Film and Theatre Festival, Amur Autumn.

The film will have its Russian premiere at the festival, which is scheduled to take place in Blagoveshchensk, Russia, from 13 to 19 September 2026.

Written and directed by Jihad, the 81-minute black-and-white film is a Bangladesh-Germany co-production between Bangladeshi production company MANpaCHITRA and Germany’s Mogador Film.

Manoj Pramanik produced the film, with Fazle Hasan Shishir as co-producer. Christoph Thoke of Mogador Film is attached as associate producer, while internationally recognised film critic and producer Darcy Paquet serves as consulting producer.

The film previously had its world premiere at the 28th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF), where it competed in the Asian New Talent Competition for the Golden Goblet Award. Cinematographer Samiul Karim Suptak won the Golden Goblet Award for Best Cinematography for his work on the film.

At Amur Autumn 2026, the film will compete against 10 entries from countries including Russia, China, Türkiye, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Italy and France for six awards, including the Grand Prix.

The film follows three teenage girls in a rural society shaped by fear, superstition and social control as they attempt to escape futures imposed upon them. Their paths diverge as they encounter violence, forced marriage and social humiliation.

One of the central characters, Momi, is a blind teenage girl whose encounter with a mysterious elephant becomes a symbol of hope, freedom and liberation. The film combines social realism, allegory and mystical elements to explore patriarchy, social control, religious conservatism, women’s resistance and the desire for freedom.

The film’s black-and-white cinematography and restrained visual language are used to portray the harshness of rural life while reinforcing its symbolic and mysterious elements.

At Amur Autumn, the film will be judged by an international jury led by Uzbek filmmaker Rashid Malikov. Other jury members include Kim Il-dong of South Korea, Barish Yurtsever of Türkiye, Zheng Hanyi of China and Alexei Bardukov of Russia.

The film’s selection at Amur Autumn follows its competitive selection and cinematography award at the Shanghai International Film Festival, further extending its international festival run.

The film has a runtime of 81 minutes and features cinematography by Samiul Karim Suptak, editing by Hasib Ahmed, sound design and mixing by Saiba Talukder, music by Sayantan Mangsang, colour work by Chinmoy Roy and VFX by Shan.