Bangladeshi films in the international arena: a short ledger

Long before independence from colonial rule, East Bengal films were screened, acclaimed and rewarded on foreign soil. This practice continues in the Bangladesh episode, though not regularly. But now, with the advent of technology, communication has become much more manageable, and digital films are also being sent to festivals in different countries effortlessly. And that is why many young people in Bangladesh send their short and full-length movies to various festivals outside the country. Foreign films are also coming to the festivals of this country, and everyone is getting a chance to see them. We live in a world of open communication, so filmmakers also benefit from it. We will briefly look at this article to see how our films have played a significant role in the international arena from the sixties to this century.

In the world of film, awarding prizes in international competitions is not so old. Cinema people started this culture just a hundred and twenty-two years ago. The first film competition and awards were held in February 1900 in Monaco. The first film from India to participate in the Venice Film Festival in 1934 was 'Sita'. Later, over the past two and a half decades, several films from Bangla Desh (not Bangladesh) have taken part in the international film arena and have been acclaimed.

'Jago Hua Savera', produced by AJ Kardar in collaboration with FDC in 1959, was FDC's first Urdu film. The film won 11 awards from the international arena and showcased the breathtaking landscape of Bengal in foreign lands. The film was the second-best film at the Moscow Film Festival, won a gold medal at the Nice International Film Festival, and was recognized by the Robert Flaherty Foundation for Best Film. Receiving an award is certainly a big deal, but it is no less important for a film to be screened at an international festival. For example, Fateh Lohani's 'Asia' participated in the Delhi and Cairo Film Festivals in 1961. The DFP documentary 'Wealth in Pond' was awarded the same year at the Vancouver International Film Festival.

In 1962, Baby Islam's 'Tanha' went to the Beirut Film Festival, and Salahuddin's 'Suryasnan' went to the Tehran Film Festival. The same year, Subhash Dutt's 'Sutarang' won the second-best film award at the Frankfurt Film Festival. It was the first Bengali film to receive international recognition. Satyajit Ray congratulated director Subhash Dutt for such an achievement in Bengali cinema. Ray sent greetings to Subhash Dutt with an autograph under his picture.

The film 'Sutarang' is vital in many ways in the history of Bangladeshi cinema. The famous writer Syed Shamsul Haque wrote the dialogue of this film. Not only that, for the first time, he also wrote lyrics for all songs in this film. Playback like 'Tumi asbe bole, kache dakbe bole', 'Nadi banka jani, chand banka jani', 'Emon moja hoyna, gaye sonar goyna', 'Ei je akash, ei je batash' etc. were very popular at that time. Creator of Masud Rana, famous fictional spy character Kazi Anwar Hossain did playback in this film. Mina Pal debuted in the movie 'Sutarang' and became known as the heroine Kabari.

In 1965, Commonwealth Film Festival in London screened Fateh Lohani's 'Saat Rong'. Zaheer Raihan's 'Sangam' was screened at the Commonwealth and Nepal Film Festivals. In 1967, Sadeq Khan's 'Nadi and Nari' was shown at the New York Art Theater in the United States. Subhash Dutt's 'Ayna O Oboshista' was awarded the same year at the Moscow Film Festival. Another film by Subhash Dutt, 'Abirbhav', was screened at the Phnom Penh Film Festival in 1968. The film received a special award from the Queen of Cambodia. And Khan Ataur Rahman's 'Sirajuddaula' was acclaimed at the Afro-Asia Film Festival in Tashkent in 1968.

After the bloody liberation war of 1971, the people of this land got a new country, a new state - Bangladesh. After the country's independence, Zaheer Raihan's documentary 'Stop Genocide' was screened at the Tashkent Film Festival in 1972. Subhash Dutt's 'Arunodayer Agnisakshi' was screened in Moscow in 1973. Khan Ataur Rahman's 'Abaar Tora Manush Ha' and Mita's 'Alore Michil' were screened at the Tashkent Film Festival in 1974. Baby Islam's "Charitraheen" was screened at the Moscow Film Festival in 1975. 'Supravat', directed by Kabir Anwar, was screened at the Delhi Festival in 1976. The same year, at the Tashkent festival, Mita's film 'Lathial' won an award and a Uzbek Foreign Friendship Association diploma. The following year the film was shown at the British Film Institute and the Merkel Theater in Washington. Three films took part in the Moscow Film Festival in 1977: Harunur Rashid's 'Megher Anek Rang', M. A. Samad's 'Suryagrahan' and Alamgir Kabir's 'Simana Perye'. Among these three, 'Megher Anek Rang' participated in the competition and the other two in the information sections. Subhash Dutt's 'Bashundhara' participated in the Tashkent Film Festival 1978. In 1979, Subhash Dutt's 'Dumurer Phool' received a special award in Moscow. The film was screened in the children's film section. At the same festival, two more Bangladeshi films were privately awarded: one by Amjad Hossain's 'Golapi Ekhon Traine' and the other by Abdus Samad's 'Surya Sangram'.

In 1980, 'Surya Dighal Bari' won four international awards. Sheikh Niyamat Ali and Mashihuddin Shaker jointly direct the film. Despite being invited to the Berlin Film Festival, the film could not go to Germany due to the negligence of the authorities. Besides, the film could not go to the Locarno festival because it did not have subtitles. However, the film won third prize at a jury board trial at the Mannheim Film Festival. In addition, the film won the International Film Society Federation Award called Don Quixote in the same year. The film has also been screened and acclaimed in England, Germany and Portugal.

In 1981, invited three films from Bangladesh went to Moscow. Among them, the film 'Danpite Chele', directed by Ataur Rahman, was awarded by the Children's Judges Council. On the other hand, 'Chutir Ghanta', directed by Azizur Rahman, did not get any awards. And Amjad Hossain's 'Kashai' could not be displayed due to poor-quality print. Badal Rahman's 'Emiler Goyenda Bahini' was shown at the Delhi Festival the same year. In 1983 M. Hamid's BTV documentary 'Latherism' won an award at the International Agri Film Festival in West Berlin. The film also won a Japan Television Award. Finally, Morshedul Islam's short film 'Agami' won the Silver Peacock for Best Director at the 1985 Delhi Festival. This is the first short film from Bangladesh to be awarded internationally.

Sheikh Niyamt Ali's 'Dahan' was screened in the main competition section at the Carloveri Film Festival in 1986 and was awarded. The government-sponsored film was acclaimed at several international festivals, including the Third World Film Festival in Paris. 'Dhakar Tokai', a short film by young producers, won an award at the 1986 film festival held in Oberhausen, Germany. Darashiko's 'Prem Kahini' and Subhash Dutt's 'Phool Shajya' were screened at the Moscow Film Festival this year. In 1987, films and representatives from Bangladesh participated in various sections of the Delhi, Cannes, Moscow, Vancouver and Cairo International Film Festivals but did not get any awards. In the same year, Sheikh Niyamt Ali's 'Dahan' won the first prize from the Korean Film Workers Union at the Non-Aligned Movement Film Festival in North Korea.

In 1988, 1989 and 1990, Amjad Hossain, Dilip Biswas, Ikram Biju, Kazi Hayat, Shahidul Islam Khokon, Matin Rahman, Shibli Sadiq and Nazrul Islam participated in the Tashkent, Carloveri, Cairo, Moscow and Pyongyang Film Festivals. But no film has been awarded at any film festival in these three years. Tareq Masood's 'Adam Surat' won a place in the main competition at the 1990 International Short Film Festival in Bombay, India. In 1991, Chashi Nazrul Islam's film 'Birha Byatha' was screened at the Pyongyang and Madras International Film Festivals. 'Pratasha Surya', directed by Badal Rahman and Syed Salahuddin Zaki, was awarded at the Tashkent Film Festival. Badal Rahman's 'Self Portrait' won the award at the Moscow Film Festival. Shibli Sadiq's 'Samman' and Mustafizur Rahman's 'Shankha Neel Karagar' went to the Tashkent International Film Festival 1992. Kazi Hayat's 'Danga' was awarded at the Pyongyang Film Festival the same year.

Film researcher Mirza Tarekul Quader said, "Bangladesh has participated in various film festivals of the world for 32 long years from 1959 to 1992. Let's consider the success of the Bangladeshi films sent to the festival. We would find the Urdu film 'Jago Hua Savera', Bengali films 'Sutarang', 'Surya Durghal Bari', and 'Dahan', these four feature films, as well as two short films 'Stop Genocide' and' Agami', only got significant success, comparing with others. The number of awards received is also deficient. The only post-independence and government-sponsored film, 'Surya Dighal Bari', won the highest international recognition, a rare honour for the country."

Director Subhash Dutt was like a shining star in the three decades mentioned at the International Film Festival. His films have been acclaimed and awarded at multiple festivals worldwide in these 32 years. After Subhash Dutt, Tareq Masood is the most successful director of Bangladesh in the international arena. In 2002, his film 'Matir Moyna' won the FIPRESCI Award from the Director's Fortnight, a parallel branch of the Cannes International Film Festival. The film also won Best Screenplay at the Marrakech International Film Festival the same year. In addition, Tareq Masood's documentaries 'Muktir Gaan' and 'Muktir Kotha' were screened at two international festivals and awarded. In 2006, Tareq Masood's film 'Antaryatra' won a special award at the Cinephan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema.

Another successful Bangladeshi filmmaker Kamar Ahmad Simon has been awarded at the Locarno, Sundance and International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. He created his style of fiction and non-fiction. His most talked-about and acclaimed film in the international arena is 'Shunte Ki Pao?' Since then, the film 'Another Day ...' has also garnered acclaim and awards at various international film festivals.

In 2012, Mostofa Sarwar Farooki's 'Television' won the Asia Cinema Fund for Post-Production Award. His films Saturday Afternoon' and 'No Land's Man' have also been screened and acclaimed at various international film festivals. 

Amitabh Reza Chowdhury's 'Rickshaw Girl' won the SLM Top Award in the Junior Film category at the 2021 Schlingel International Film Festival in Germany. In the same year, 'Rehana Maryam Noor', directed by Abdullah Mohammad Saad, participated in various international film festivals and was acclaimed. The film competed in the Un Certain Regard category at the 74th Cannes Film Festival. Also, at the Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival in Canada, Ajmeri Haque Bandhan, who played the lead role in the film, won the Best Actress award. At the 36th Valencia International Film Festival in Spain in 2022, Rehana Miriam Noor won Best Film and Best Actress in a Leading Role. In the same year, Juboraj Shamim-directed debut film 'Adim' has won two awards at the 44th Moscow International Film Festival in Russia.

In addition to receiving awards in the international arena, films of several directors of this country have been screened at various events abroad and garnered praise. For example, Tanvir Mokammel's 'Lalsalu', 'Lalon', 'Simantarekha' etc., have been screened outside the country. He has a special place in the intellectual community of Calcutta. Besides, on World Refugee Day in 2019, the film 'Janmabhoomi', made on Rohingyas, was screened by the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the United Nations. The director of the film 'Janmabhoomi' is Prasoon Rahman. Apart from special exhibitions, many Bangladeshi films have been shown in foreign theatres at different times. We are not listing them here anymore. However, in the last sixty years, our films have participated in many festivals and events abroad but have achieved nothing significant in the international arena. That is not to say that it will not happen. The way the film is being practised in Bangladesh is very encouraging. Different universities and institutions teach film here, and many young people now lean toward filmmaking. Several good works we are getting from these enthusiastic young makers. If such practices continue, films will introduce Bangladesh to the world anew.
  

• বিষয়:
• Bangladesh
• Cinema
• Film