Bangladesh has chosen Iqbal H. Chowdhury’s “Boli” (“The Wrestler”) as its submission to the best international feature film category in the 2025 Academy Awards. The film won the New Currents award at the 2023 Busan International Film Festival and played at Shanghai earlier this year.
Set in a Bangladeshi fishing village, the film follows Moju, a middle-aged man who trains rigorously in boli, a traditional form of wrestling, with the goal of challenging the village champion, Dofor.
Moju’s ambitions face opposition from his community, including his son Shafu, who attempts to prevent his father from participating in the match. Despite these obstacles, a confrontation between Moju and Dofor becomes inevitable.
The story of the movie revolves around the popular Chittagong-based sport Boli (traditional wrestling).
Produced by Piplu R Khan, with Saiful Azim and Gausul Alam Shaon as co-producers, the film stars Nasir Uddin Khan in the lead role as a passionate fisherman. Priyam Orchy, Angel Noor, AKM Itmam, and others are also featured in the cast.
