Photo: courtesy of Mabrur Rashid Bannah

Having made his directorial debut in 2011 with the tele-fiction "Flashback", Mabrur Rashid Bannah has spent a decade proving himself as one of the prolific young directors on television. He went on to win over the audience with projects like "Alien O Rumpar Golpo", "Firefly", "All About Us", among many other projects.

"I worked as an assistant director to Iftekhar Ahmed Fahmi for three years before my debut directorial, and I learned a lot from him," shares Bannah, who is a graduate of Communication and Media Studies, from UODA. "I was lucky enough, to get support from the prominent artistes, who believed in me, my first project featured an artiste like Aly Zaker -- what more I could ask for as a debutant!"

His directorial projects, "Asroy" starring Mosharraf Karim and Zakia Bari Mamo, "Sweeper Man" starring Musfiq R Farhan, and "Mayer Daak" featuring Dilara Zaman were also widely appreciated, having bagged the highest number of awards in 28 categories at the The Nexgen International Film Festival and the Paradox International Film Festival. Bannah considers these projects to be the major turning points in his career.

"I had submitted these fictions as experiments, to be honest," smiles the director. "Awards are always inspiring, and having said that I have further plans to direct more projects in future particularly focused for international festivals, which is a new experience for me." One of his highlights this Eid is "#Single Film Story" which includes 14 short films. "These short films include sci-fi, thriller, and thought provoking plots," says Bannah.

Bannah will also act as the creative producer of "Baish E Ekush", a project consisting of 21 short films directed by 11 directors, who previously worked as assistant directors with him.

"I am looking forward to this project, as it is a great opportunity for the emerging directors to prove themselves."

At any given time, Mabrur Rashid Bannah is always occupied with multiple projects, without rest. "I am a workaholic, who always into telling new stories."

Photo: courtesy of Mabrur Rashid Bannah

This year will mark a decade of his directorial journey. "Surviving in this industry was definitely a challenge, since I had to compete with some of the best." Bannah is a versatile act, being able to portray a wide array of subjects including science fictions, contemporary social issues and rom-coms. "I don't really make for any particular audience, as a storyteller I always want to portray a fresh story that will surprise the audience," he says.

Near the end of the interview, Mabrur Rashid Bannah dropped a bombshell: the director is gearing up for his first film. "Though I had plans to begin it earlier, however, the pandemic changed everything. I am all set for my silver screen debut, as I can say for now, my pre-production is in the works," shares an excited Bannah. "I am grateful to my audience for supporting me, and I want them all to be with me in my new journey to the silver screens."