Last April I was selected by the British Council to join a conference in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. This was my first foreign trip–all alone in a country and culture that is very different than that of my own.
The main purpose of my seven-days visit to Edinburgh was to participate in a workshop titled 'Developing Your Film Festival' organised by the Independent Cinema Office. I met some amazing people at the workshop and quickly made friends with them. There were thirty participants from twenty five different countries and I was the youngest of them, but it never felt that way.
In Bangladesh, such workshops are not available. So, it was kind of a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. I never thought I will get the chance to learn something from the head of the sponsor of Berlin International Film Festival. I also had the opportunity to meet with the organisers of the Toronto International Film Festival.
At the moment, I am working on organising the International Children's Film Festival Bangladesh. Learnings from this workshop helped me to think differently about organising a film festival. To get a first-hand experience, I have also been to the Edinburgh International Film Festival. All these new experiences will reflect on the next session of the project that I'm leading on.
After the end of each session, I used to take a long walk and try to explore the city as much as I could. I went to Calton hill, Grass market and to the castles, all these are amazing places. During my visit, I got lost in Edinburgh once and someone told me it’s a great city to get lost in. If you ever meet someone from Edinburgh, please tell them someone named Abir Ferdous Mukhar is in great love with their city.
I am really grateful to the British Council for giving me this opportunity to participate in this amazing workshop and to the Children's Film Society Bangladesh and for being an enormous support towards my professional development.