Throughout the last two decades in Bangladesh, there has been a shift in storytelling on screen. Most notably, directors made films that not only initiated conversations in the country, but also made strides on global platforms. They participated in major international festivals, paving the path for aspiring filmmakers to practice their work fearlessly.

However, the concept of film festivals remains convoluted to the masses, and only a few names seem to repeat in the circuit. To explore the reach and impact of such international platforms, The Daily Star caught up with several noted artistes who took Bangladeshi films to different festivals.

Films such as "Matir Moyna" by Tareque Masud, "Shunte Ki Pao"! by Kamar Ahmad Simon, and "Made in Bangladesh" by Rubaiyat Hossain earned global recognition for the country.

Mostofa Sarwar Farooki is considered to be a pathbreaker in Bangladeshi cinema. His film, "Television", ushered in a new era for our movies. World premiered as the closing film at the 17th Busan International Film Festival, it received many accolades and inspired a bunch of young filmmakers to take risks.

Farooki's "Shonibar Bikel" (Saturday Afternoon) was banned by the Bangladesh Film Censor Board. The film is loosely inspired from the Holey Artisan attack of 2016, but it is not a portrayal of the actual events.

The Bangladesh-Germany co-production won the Russian Film Critics Award at the Moscow International Film Festival, and also travelled to Munich, Sydney, and Busan.

Director Abdullah Mohammad Saad's "Rehana Maryam Noor" made history as the first Bangladeshi film to be screened at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival's Un Certain Regardsection, last year. Un Certain Regardpresents 20 films with unusual styles and non-traditional stories seeking international recognition.

Meanwhile, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) selected Simon's Anyadin… (Day after…) for its 2021 international competition. Three Bangladeshi films – Farooki's "No Land's Man", Mohammad Rabby Mridha's "Paayer Tolay Mati Nai" and Saad's "Rehana Maryam Noor" were selected for the 26th Busan International Film Festival.

Over the last decade, a number of Bangladeshi films took part in the Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Sundance and Toronto International Film Festivals, which are considered to be the "big five" in the circuit. Among directors, Simon's presence in festivals has been noteworthy. However, it took a good deal of consideration.

"Festivals are a great way to launch a film, but choosing the right one for your film is a critical decision that you must take carefully. My film, 'Shunte Ki Pao!' (Are You Listening!) was in consideration for Berlinale when I received a proposal from Dok-Leipzig, also from Germany," said Simon. "This is considered the 'new Berlin', and they pitched the idea for me to be the 'curtain-opener of the oldest doc fest'. So, I didn't wait for the decision of Berniale and launched the film in Leipzig. Producer Sara Afreen submitted a work-in-progress version of 'Day after…' to IDFA, and they chose the film for the main international competition."

He added that IDFA is considered to be one of the top leading festivals, along with Cannes, Berlinale, and Venice, but our local audience knows very little about it. "Still, we chose to launch the film at IDFA since it is a once in a lifetime opportunity. It is a very subjective scenario, where a filmmaker's philosophy rules the game. There are thousands of festivals running around the world and all of them, including the leading ones, are governed by their own agendas. A quick example is Iran. The brand of Iranian cinema was no less than a creation of festivals like Cannes and Berlinale as an extension of the critical western gaze on the 'Islamic Republic'," explained Simon.

"If we consider Iranian filmmakers of the post-Kiarostami generation, we'll find that the more they were critical of their own values and culture, the more they were attributed. Taxi by Jafar Panahi is one such film that comes to mind, but in my opinion, Metal and Melancholy by Heidi Honigman is a much better film shot in Peru almost on the same theme, but only a few may remember it. Less politically-oriented filmmakers can easily put Bangladesh in the same genre, especially when festivals are looking for the next Iran."

Moreover, young director Mahde Hasan's feature film, "Sand City", won the CNC development grant for its visual audacity and artistic originality at Open Doors Locarno 2018. "It is indispensable to know the characteristics of film festivals. Some offer just screening where makers can experiment with their concepts and some are markets where even well-known directors bring their films for selling and distribution," he added. "Getting officially selected for a competition or grant essentially shows people's trust in filmmakers. Grants and funds come through rigorous trials, it is crucial to engage local financiers and producers for the development of the project. Having a festival in mind from the pre-production time is not discouraged because it will work as a source of motivation, but filmmakers must have clear visions of their intentions."

From his experience of workshops, Hasan shared that most South Asian films do poorly in sound design, which should be taken into careful consideration.

A nation requires consistency to hold a strong position in the festival circuit. "We still have a long way to go in terms of making film programmers consider Bangladesh essentially in their line-ups. For that, we have to tell our own stories in our own style," shares filmmaker, producer, and architect Sara Afreen. "For example, Iranian cinema in the festival circuit is branded as realistic socio-political dramas with minimalist storylines. Korea, Japan, and Ecuador have their own brands as well. Whatever little success we have, it's high time that we strategise our presence in the festival circuit in the next ten years. We need to find our own voice and style, without copying others. We need to explore more of what's happening around the globe."

Azmeri Haque Badhon

Afreen added that filmmakers from Bangladesh should work very closely as a fraternity and focus on making good cinema, first and foremost.

She warned that each festival has its own agenda, which can sometimes be overwhelming, deviating directors from making  their own movies. She suggested that filmmakers should go for festivals when they are mature and thick-skinned enough to tackle the challenges.

In her view, for a lasting footprint, Bangladesh needs to groom more film producers, distributors, funders, critics, teachers, technicians, and actors. For that, there has to be a periodic synchronisation among all film-based bodies, from public and private sectors.

Interestingly, executive producer of "Rehana Maryam Noor" and "Live from Dhaka", Ehsanul Haque, shared that given the accolades "Rehana Maryam Noor" received so far, people often perceive it as a product of foreign funds, which is untrue. "Our team consciously agreed to not involve external funds because what we were offered also had its demands. We did not want our story to get affected," he said.

Entering the festival circuit through co-productions gained us a larger audience and wider recognition, which is a point of pride for our country. "A lesser known fact is that 'Rehana Maryam Noor' was initially not selected in the section at Cannes that we originally signed up for,  but later, through team discussions, we applied for the Un Certain Regard section, and the rest is history," added Haque.

"We tend to get bogged down by the success of a film at any given platform. Although the whole process can be tedious and frustrating at times, if you have a solid story and the right intentions, your work shall bear fruit. As the executive producer and a long time friend of Saad, we, as a team, only wanted to put forward a story that we believed in."

Dhaka-based documentary filmmaker Humaira Bilkis' works have been screened internationally. Her film 'Garden of Memories' went to Viewing Room under the prestigious Film Bazaar Recommends at Goa Film Bazaar in India in 2017, and was selected for the Media Library in the prestigious Visions du Réel, Nyon, 2018. In her view, co-productions offer different possibilities and perspectives.

"When a film is submitted for a festival, as a cultural product, it gets exposed to a larger audience to take notice. When opportunities of co-productions arise in a particular country, it means that some of its previous works must have paved the path," she shared. "It is affirmative for future filmmakers to move forward with goodwill carefully. At film festivals, Bangladesh is not stuck in old narratives of poverty, natural calamities, or development anymore. The artistic concepts and experimental storytelling offered by the country is getting  the due recognition. Investors are also considering Bangladesh as a potential market, which is encouraging."

According to Bilkis, the cross cultural aspect of festivals is a great teacher. As a film is presented to a global audience, makers come across questions that open possibilities of cross-checking their own ideas.

Rezwan Shahriar Sumit believes that interest in Bangladeshi stories has gained traction in the festival circuit. "In recent times, films like 'Made in Bangladesh', 'Rehana Maryam Noor', and'Nonajoler Kabbo' not only won awards at film festivals, but also got distribution deals in multiple territories. HBO Europe, for example, is showing 'Nonajoler Kabbo' in several European nations," commented the director. He added that while co-productions provide exciting possibilities, they are not the only way to make good films. Co-producers, Sumit shared, should add value to a project.

Although the pandemic has limited travelling, it has made films reachable by the masses through online screenings. Sumit, on the other hand, noted that there seems to be a tendency to skip actual movie screenings in favour of networking events. According to him, watching new films on the big screen helps filmmakers to be informed about the growing cinema cultures and techniques, both locally and worldwide.

Lauded at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival for her performance in "Rehana Maryam Noor", Azmeri Haque Badhon spoke about her experience. "The respect and love ushered for 'Rehana Maryam Noor' at Cannes and other festivals were immense. The film was subjected to critics and reviews from all over the world and it passed with flying colours. This is a huge source of encouragement not only for the makers, but for the performers as well. It was exciting and challenging to tell the story of a middle-aged female protagonist. This film changed my life," she said.

"Meeting Anurag Kashyap and getting to audition for Vishal Bhardwaj's 'Khufiya' all started from Cannes. I have done films across borders before, but now, I can sense a positive shift in attitude towards performers."

Badhon expects filmmakers, especially women, to step forward and be unapologetic about telling their stories.

Many filmmakers have interpreted events of the real world in their work. Aung Rakhine's film, "Mor Thengari" (My Bicycle), presents a metaphorical narration about the ongoing plight of indigenous people. The Bangladesh Film Censor Board blocked its commercial release. The film, however, garnered praise at a number of international festivals. Rakhine's short film, "The Last Post Office", premiered at Locarno Film Festival in 2018 and later, took a final spot with 76 others among 9,000 films at France's Klehmo Ferrow International Film Festival.

"I do not self-censor my films. Filmmakers with strong stories must be fearless and focused. Censoring can come from various spaces, but self-censorship is detrimental for an artiste," Rakhine expressed.

Overall, film festivals are for audiences to explore and to dive into and discover new filmmakers and new voices, as much as they are for the industry to come and look at the films that are in the marketplace. As suggested by Hasan, filmmakers who intend to explore the festival circuit should watch contemporary films, along with classics, on different platforms. 

The author is an art researcher and writer in the making. Email: priyanka.chowdhury@gmail.com.