Once a vibrant centre for film making in the country, the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation is now mostly abandoned by producers due to inefficiency, corruption and lack of advanced technology at the state-run institution.
The corporation has started losing its appeal since 2003 after enjoying its heyday, film-makers said.
They blamed successive聽 governments for making the country鈥檚 film industry foreign and private sector-dependent by 鈥榙eliberately delaying鈥� the introduction of digital technology at the corporation.
The BFDC鈥檚 income has turned so low that it has been struggling to pay its staff salaries since 2012. Amid the crisis, the number of its staff declined to 196 in 2025 from 360 in 2009.
The production entity generates its income by renting shooting floors, accessories and editing panels for producing films.
Founded in 1957 as the East Pakistan Film Development Corporation on an area of about 22 bighas of land at Tejgaon in Dhaka, the institution turned into the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation after Bangladesh鈥檚 independence in 1971.
Film director Sohel Rana Boyati said bureaucratic complexity at the BFDC was a barrier to assisting independent film-makers as well as short-film producers.
鈥楢lthough the rents for cameras and other film-making accessories are lower at the BFDC compared with those at the private houses, the application process at the state-run institution is cumbersome,鈥� said Sohel Rana who produced and directed the film 鈥楴oya Manush鈥�.
He observed that not all film projects needed advanced accessories, but the private production houses in the country offered upgraded technology at nearly the same amount of fees the BFDC usually charged for the services with older versions of the technology.
The technicians working at the BFDC, which operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, are below par in terms of adopting contemporary styles and trends in the sector, he said.
The institution had initially operated on its own earnings, but due to the decreased income, it has started taking government subsidies since 2015 to meet its operational expenses.
Against the background, the past government in 2018 launched a modernisation project titled 鈥楤FDC Complex鈥�, a 12-story building with advanced facilities, scheduled to be completed in June 2026, at a cost of Tk 322 crore.
But the construction of the complex is unlikely to be completed by the stipulated time, according to officials.
Once the BFDC Complex is completed, film-makers will be able to use the advanced facilities there at a reasonable rate, Sohel Rana hoped.
Film-maker Delwar Jahan Jhantu said that they avoided the BFDC for bureaucratic complexity and lack of services there.
鈥榃e can finish a film project in one and half months at production houses outside the BFDC, but the completion of the same project takes more time at the corporation,鈥� Delwar Jahan said, adding that there was no government incentive for film production and it usually charged higher than the other production houses for services.
The BFDC is now offering to rent their shooting spots, including six shooting floors and set props, digital cameras and related accessories, lights and related accessories and editing panels at lower prices than its previous charges.
According to its recent price list, the corporation lowered charges by at least 37 per cent for shooting floors and 21 to 60 per cent for cameras and related accessories for January-June as an experiment to improve transactions.
A BFDC employee said that the sound and video editing studios used at least 12-year old technologies which were bought in the 2013-14 session.
鈥極ut of five sound studios, only one studio is working now. We use the original version of Final Cut Pro, a video editing software, but we have not been able to upgrade our system regularly since 2014,鈥� the official said, adding that five editing laboratories also needed upgradation for video editing and colour corrections.
He also said that not only the big-budget productions, but the maximum films鈥� post-production work was now completed abroad.
鈥楥olour corrections of 80 per cent of Bangladeshi films and advisements are done in India and Thailand. If we can upgrade our technology, we can attract the film-makers to take the services in Bangladesh,鈥� he added.
Bangladesh Film Development Corporation managing director Masuma Rahman Tani said that the institution had been deliberately weakened over the years to make the industry foreign-dependent.
鈥楾he BFDC runs with 196 employees at different departments and they receive monthly Tk 1.10 lakh as their wages, but most of the workers have now no duty to perform because of fewer clients,鈥� she said, adding that out of six shooting floors, only two were now ready for work.
鈥榃e need emergency renovations to all existing shooting floors, sound systems and video editing panels to serve our clients,鈥� said Masuma, who joined the corporation as its MD on February 23.
鈥榃e plan to buy LED lights and four movie cameras as early as possible to attract our film-makers as part of our six months of activities. We will also organise training for our employees and open a web site for seeking our products and services online to avoid corruption,鈥� she added.
Masuma mentioned that due to the low income, they were not able to hire more security personnel for the BFDC which is currently run with only eight unarmed guards, but they would set up closed-circuit cameras for security purposes once their income increased.
鈥楢 props house is under construction for film production and we have also planned to open a central e-ticket server to ensure producers鈥� income and government tax from film screening,鈥� she said.
From 1972 to 2010, on average 50 films were released annually in the country and most of the films were produced at the BFDC. In 2024, the number of films released was 49 and most of them were produced at houses outside the corporation.