Rubaiyat Hossain’s The Difficult Bride, supported by the Fondazione Prada Film Fund, has been selected for the Orizzonti competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. The film will have its world premiere on Sunday, September 6, at 2:15 p.m. in the Sala Darsena at the Venice Lido.
The feature is one of 14 projects supported by the inaugural Fondazione Prada Film Fund and the first from its initial selection to be presented at a major international film festival. It was chosen from more than 1,200 submissions received from around the world.
Set in contemporary Dhaka, The Difficult Bride follows Zaineen, a bride-to-be preparing for her dream wedding who begins to lose control of her own body. As beauty rituals, social expectations and supernatural forces collide, her journey towards marriage becomes a disturbing search for freedom.
The film is an international co-production between France, Bangladesh, Portugal, Norway and Germany. It is produced by Les Films de l’Après-Midi, Midas Filmes, Khona Talkies and Barentsfilm, with Tandem Productions, and represented internationally by Films Boutique.
Born in Bangladesh in 1981, Rubaiyat Hossain is a filmmaker, screenwriter and researcher whose work explores women’s rights, identity and social pressure. Her previous features include Meherjaan (2011), Under Construction (2015) and Made in Bangladesh (2019).
“The selection of one of the projects supported by the Film Fund’s first edition is an important early achievement for an initiative in which we strongly believe,” said Miuccia Prada, President and Director of Fondazione Prada.
Paolo Moretti, Head of the Fondazione Prada Film Fund, described the Venice selection as “a great source of satisfaction,” adding that the team looks forward to following the future journeys of the other supported projects.
The Fund’s second call for entries remains open until September 10, 2026, for projects in development and post-production. The new selection will be announced in February 2027.
