Bangladeshi film industry put an impact in Goa

Both the South Asian film market Film Bazaar and the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa saw an impact from the Bangladeshi film industry.

According to a report of Variety, Bangladesh feature film ‘Agantuk’ (The Stranger) directed by Biplob Sarkar was named as unanimous winner of the Prasad DI award, conferred by the Film Bazaar Recommends jury in Goa on Thursday.

“The jury appreciates the simple and delicate coming of age tale that brings us close to different generations trying to escape from the denial of their identity,” said the FBR jury in a statement.

Their win will allow them to make a complete DI DCP and to use Qubewire to transmit the film to film festivals and exhibitors.

Along with Biplob Sarkar, there was a significant presence from Bangladesh that included Redoan Rony, the leader of streamer Chorki, Abu Shahed Emon’s Payer ‘Payer Tolay Mati Nai’ (No Ground Beneath the Feet), Bijon, who is part of the ‘Solo’ team that has scored CNC funding.

In addition, four Bangladeshi films are selected at IFFI. Noor Iman’s ‘Patalghar’ (A House With No Name) producer Abu Shahed Emon, Akram Khan’s ‘Nakshikanthar Jomin’ (A Tale of Two Sisters) and Khandaker Sumon’s ‘Saatao’ (Memories of Gloomy Monsoons) had their world premieres at the festival, while Gias Uddin Selim’s ‘Paap Punno’ (Vice and Virtue) had its international premiere at the festival.

Popular actor Jaya Ahsan, star of ‘Nakshikanthar Jomin’ (A Tale of Two Sisters), was part of a large film cohort from Bangladesh attending IFFI.

“There was a selection of four feature films this year. It’s a pretty rare case, which means there is a high volume of quality projects being made every year. With the rise of OTT [streaming] and the Bangladeshi content industry I guess this is one of the best times in Bangladeshi cinema history,” Abu Shahed Emon told Variety.