‘Hawa’ selected as Bangladesh’s official entry for 95th Oscars

Mejbaur Rahman Sumon’s debut feature film ‘Hawa’ has been selected for nomination into the ‘Best International Feature Film’ category of the 95th Academy Awards, by the Oscar Committee Bangladesh. The news was confirmed by a press release issued by the Bangladesh Federation of Film Societies on Saturday.

Two films were submitted for nomination to the 95th Oscar Committee Bangladesh. The films were Sumon’s blockbuster hit ‘Hawa’ and Muhammad Kaiyum’s ‘Kura Pokkhir Shunney Ura.’

The 95th Oscar Committee Bangladesh finalized Sumon’s ‘Hawa’ after watching both films at the office of Aashirbad Films in Kakrail of the capital on Saturday.

Bangladesh’s Oscar Committee Chairman and veteran Bangladeshi film producer Habibur Rahman Khan hosted the screening event. Bangladesh Federation of Film Societies members including film Critic Professor Abdus Salim, film Critic and veteran filmmaker Shameem Akhtar, Film Directors’ Association President Sohanur Rahman Sohan, Film Artists’ Association President Ilias Kanchan, Editors Guild President Abu Musa Debu and cinematographer Pankaj Palit were present at the event.

Each year the Oscar Committee Bangladesh and Bangladesh Federation of Film Societies nominates a Bangladeshi feature film to submit it to the Academy Awards’ ‘Best International Feature Film’ category as a part of our national submission. This does not necessarily mean that ‘Hawa’ will automatically compete as an official selection in the ‘Best International Feature Film’ category. The film will then compete with all the other official national submissions from countries across the Asia Pacific region.

Similarly, Director Pan Nalin’s Gujarati film ‘Chhello Show,’ an Indo-French co-production, has been selected as India’s official entry for the 2023 Oscars. According to the Film Federation of India (FFI) president TP Aggarwal, ‘Chhello Show’ was unanimously chosen over films such as SS Rajamouli’s ‘RRR,’ Ranbir Kapoor-led ‘Brahmastra,’ Rajkummar Rao-Bhumi Pednekar-starrer ‘Badhaai Do’ and R Madhavan’s directorial debut ‘Rocketry: The Nambi Effect,’ for its storytelling technique and the universal appeal of its theme. There were 13 films from India on the contenders’ list this year.

The Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, is one of the biggest stages for the felicitation of a film. The 95th iteration of the event will take place on March 12, 2023, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts, at California’s Dolby Theatre. 24 segments of films will be rewarded in this regard.

‘Hawa,’ a fantasy film, broke all local and international box office records for a Bangladeshi film and still running in theatres. It tells the story of fishermen and a mysterious girl who randomly shows up on their trawler.

The film stars Chanchal Chowdhury, Nazifa Tushi, Sumon Anowar, Nasir Uddin Khan, Sariful Razz, Shohel Mondol and Rizvi Rizu, among others.