Biography
RIAD ARFIN
Director, DOP and Editor | Based in UK | Bangladesh
I’m a filmmaker drawn to stories that live in the quiet spaces between people, between places, between what’s said and what’s felt. Born in Bangladesh and now based in the UK, I use cinema to explore emotion, identity, and the invisible borders that shapes us.
My work blends poetic realism with grounded social insight, rooted in a belief that cinema should not only move us but stay with us. I’m driven by a commitment to meaningful, character-led storytelling that resonates across cultures and provokes thoughts and inspires change.
My short film A Border Between Us funded by Screen Scotland and produced by the Scottish Documentary Institute had its world premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and went on to screen at BFI London Film Festival, DOC NYC, DC/DOX, Glasgow Short Film Festival, and the UK Asian Film Festival, where it won Best Short Film in 2024.
In 2024, I was selected for the Glasgow Film Festival’s New Talent Mentorship program. I have participated in a film residency in Mexico led by Pedro Costa and organised by Creators Lab. Where, I made Under the Mayan Sun, a personal short set against the raw, mythic backdrop of the Yucatán. Most recently, in 2025, I made We Left Everything to Build Your House during a Scotland–Kosovo film residency funded by the British Council.
My earlier films include A Bus Ride, which won Best Short Film at the Dhaka International Short and Independent Film Festival in 2014, and A Fishing Story, awarded the Jury Prize at Chitrovasha International Film Festival in 2020. Each film reflects my continuing search for emotional truth through cinematic form.
Before relocating to Scotland, I worked extensively in Bangladesh’s media and film landscape. I worked as a Director at BBC Media Action, where I directed a range of impactful and lifesaving content about gender-based violence, child marriage and mental health. I have also directed long-form drama series for the Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh, one of the first dramas ever produced in the Rohingya language.
Alongside fiction, I’ve directed a wide range of NGO documentaries and advocacy videos for leading global organisations including UNICEF, IOM, UNHCR, Save the Children, Sense International, Free a Girl, UNDP, UNFPA, SCIAF and British Council. These works have taken me across borders and into communities where storytelling plays a critical role in raising awareness, changing behaviour, and supporting change.
Whether I’m working with professional actors or real-life participants, my aim remains the same: to create honest, emotionally resonant cinema that connects us to each other, and to the worlds we carry within.
