Director Adnan Al Rajeev’s short ALI is Metaphorically Cinematic: The Interview and Film Discussion

My guest today is Director Adnan Al Rajeev, a prominent voice in South Asian visual storytelling and founder of Runout Films.

His newest short film ALI, will have its North American premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, screening as part of the festival’s Short Cuts program. A Bangladesh-Philippines co-production, ALI is a 15-minute allegorical drama that blends poetic realism with a searing social commentary on identity, censorship, and generational silence.

Ladies and gentlemen, director Adnan Al Rajeev’s beautiful yet striking short film ALI. In his words, ALI is a reflection of “those forced to whisper their truths, bleed quietly, and censor themselves to survive.” Set in the fictional village, where women are forbidden to sing, ALI follows a 15-year-old boy harboring a mysterious secret. Raised by his mother in the shadow of both natural and cultural mountains, Ali is urged to audition for a singing competition—a rare opportunity to cross to the other side of the mountain and leave repression behind. But the act of singing becomes both a risk and a rebellion.

The film crescendos to a deeply emotional climax: a boat, a broken stitch, and a song that cannot be silenced. We continue to live in a world where millions are voices are silenced.

That silence is robbing us of those who are talented, creative, craftsmen or women, maybe the next president or prime minister.

ALI is an haunting reminder that we still have a long way in our world for everyone’s voices to be heard and respected. #shortfilm #movie #film #filmmaker #filmfestival #bondoncinema #cinephile #cinema #filmdirector #cinematography #bangladesh #cannes #voices #opportunity #talent #gifts #abilities #creativity