Bangladeshi filmmakers Mostofa Sarwar Farooki and Nusrat Imrose Tisha‘s “Something Like an Autobiography” has been acquired for U.K. broadcast by Channel 4.
The film had its world premiere at the 2023 Busan International Film Festival, where was in the prestigious Jiseok competition. It was also a part of the South Asian icon strand at the 2023 Mumbai Film Festival.
The film follows Dhaka-based married couple, the filmmaker Farhan (Farooki) and actor Tithi (Tisha), who are under societal pressure to have a baby. Tithi conceives and towards the end of her pregnancy term an incident occurs that throws into sharp relief some realities of contemporary Bangladeshi society.
The title, a nod to Kurosawa Akira’s celebrated memoir, is also reflective of the real lives of Farooki and Tisha, a real-life celebrity couple who are the most recognized filmmaker and actor in Bangladesh, respectively.
“This is a special film for me and Tisha.
The film had its world premiere at the 2023 Busan International Film Festival, where was in the prestigious Jiseok competition. It was also a part of the South Asian icon strand at the 2023 Mumbai Film Festival.
The film follows Dhaka-based married couple, the filmmaker Farhan (Farooki) and actor Tithi (Tisha), who are under societal pressure to have a baby. Tithi conceives and towards the end of her pregnancy term an incident occurs that throws into sharp relief some realities of contemporary Bangladeshi society.
The title, a nod to Kurosawa Akira’s celebrated memoir, is also reflective of the real lives of Farooki and Tisha, a real-life celebrity couple who are the most recognized filmmaker and actor in Bangladesh, respectively.
“This is a special film for me and Tisha.
- 4/21/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Borrowing its title from Kurosawa's autobiography, “Something Like an Autobiography” marks Farooki's first endeavor as an actor, while the fact that it was co-written by him and his wife, Nusrat Imrose Tisha, who also co-stars, and is inspired by their own life, induces it with an intense meta element. Let us take things from the beginning though.
Something Like an Autobiography is streaming at Chorky
Farhan, a director, and Tithi, an actress, are a married celebrity couple living in Dhaka. Despite their success and popularity, they also have to face the other side of show business, since in the Muslim patriarchal society of Bangladesh, a couple not having children is considered something of a sin. During the pandemic, however, the couple finally find the time and Tithi eventually gets pregnant. One fateful night, though, near the end of her pregnancy, Tithi grows uneasy due to loud sounds that continue late into the night.
Something Like an Autobiography is streaming at Chorky
Farhan, a director, and Tithi, an actress, are a married celebrity couple living in Dhaka. Despite their success and popularity, they also have to face the other side of show business, since in the Muslim patriarchal society of Bangladesh, a couple not having children is considered something of a sin. During the pandemic, however, the couple finally find the time and Tithi eventually gets pregnant. One fateful night, though, near the end of her pregnancy, Tithi grows uneasy due to loud sounds that continue late into the night.
- 12/1/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Bangladeshi director Mostofa Sarwar Farooki is attending Mumbai Film Festival with feature-length drama Something Like An Autobiography, which is playing in the festival’s Icons: South Asia section after premiering in the Jiseok section at Busan.
The project is the first in a series of 12 films that Farooki is co-producing with Bangladeshi streaming platform Chorki, among which he will direct the first two installments, with other established and newcomer filmmakers from Bangladesh directing the other ten films. Farooki recently wrapped the second film in the series, Last Defenders Of Monogamy, starring Chanchal Chowdhury in the story of married man and father who finds his firm belief in monogamy being tested.
Farooki and his wife, actress Nusrat Imrose Tisha, both star in the first film in the anthology, playing a semi-autobiographical version of themselves – a husband-and-wife filmmaking couple trying for a baby after the wife has endured several years of being...
The project is the first in a series of 12 films that Farooki is co-producing with Bangladeshi streaming platform Chorki, among which he will direct the first two installments, with other established and newcomer filmmakers from Bangladesh directing the other ten films. Farooki recently wrapped the second film in the series, Last Defenders Of Monogamy, starring Chanchal Chowdhury in the story of married man and father who finds his firm belief in monogamy being tested.
Farooki and his wife, actress Nusrat Imrose Tisha, both star in the first film in the anthology, playing a semi-autobiographical version of themselves – a husband-and-wife filmmaking couple trying for a baby after the wife has endured several years of being...
- 11/4/2023
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
Bangladeshi auteur Mostofa Sarwar Farooki has wrapped his latest film “Last Defenders of Monogamy.”
The cast is headlined by popular Bangladeshi actor Chanchal Chowdhury and Xefer Rahman and the cast also includes Samina Hussain Prema and Shuddho Rai.
The film follows Shafqat (Chowdhury), a father of two adolescents and a loving husband, who is a firm believer in the ideals of monogamy but the winds of change take a big test of his ideologies.
“Working with Farooki is always special. With ‘Last Defenders of Monogamy’ we have tried to break the prevalent streaming trends of sex and violence and have delivered something new. With this film we are creating a new, diverse space in streaming,” Chowdhury said.
The film is part of leading Bangladesh streamer Chorki’s 12-film “Ministry of Love” anthology. The first film in the anthology, Farooki and Nusrat Imrose Tisha’s “Something Like an Autobiography,” premiered at Busan earlier this month,...
The cast is headlined by popular Bangladeshi actor Chanchal Chowdhury and Xefer Rahman and the cast also includes Samina Hussain Prema and Shuddho Rai.
The film follows Shafqat (Chowdhury), a father of two adolescents and a loving husband, who is a firm believer in the ideals of monogamy but the winds of change take a big test of his ideologies.
“Working with Farooki is always special. With ‘Last Defenders of Monogamy’ we have tried to break the prevalent streaming trends of sex and violence and have delivered something new. With this film we are creating a new, diverse space in streaming,” Chowdhury said.
The film is part of leading Bangladesh streamer Chorki’s 12-film “Ministry of Love” anthology. The first film in the anthology, Farooki and Nusrat Imrose Tisha’s “Something Like an Autobiography,” premiered at Busan earlier this month,...
- 10/28/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
It was a weird year for Busan in terms of selection, particularly because this time, there were no definite masterpieces particularly among the Korean and Japanese titles, who are usually the source of this kind of films. At the same time, though, the industry seems to gradually pick up once more after the Covid impact, as one could find a really significant number of good and very good films in the selection, highlighting the progress of Asian cinema this year. Furthermore, the choice to focus on Indonesian cinema was an ideal one, considering that the future of Asian movies seems to lie, currently, somewhere among the Asean countries, particularly story-wise. Furthermore, the South Asian entries also were particularly strong this year, cementing what we just mentioned. Lastly, and in a trend that seems to be picking up during the last few years, the short selection seems even more interesting on occasion that the features…...
- 10/22/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Farooki is a Bangladesh-born film director, producer, and screenwriter. He directed some of his notable works which include the feature films Third Person Singular Number (2009), Television (2012), Ant Story (2013), Doob (No Bed of Roses) (2017), Saturday Afternoon (2018). His film Television was the closing film at the 2012 Busan International Film Festival and received awards at several international film festivals. In 2016, he served as a jury member for the Sonje section at the Biff. No Land’s Man (2021) was an 2020 Apm Selection and premiered in the Jiseok Section at the 2020 Busan International Film Festival.
Nusrat Imrose Tisha is one of Bangladesh’s top actors who got rare success in both fronts: audiences and critics. She got rave reviews from Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and Screen Daily for her performances in Doob (No Bed of Roses), Television, and Third Person Singular Number. She is the lead actor and co-writer of the film Something Like An Autobiography.
Nusrat Imrose Tisha is one of Bangladesh’s top actors who got rare success in both fronts: audiences and critics. She got rave reviews from Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and Screen Daily for her performances in Doob (No Bed of Roses), Television, and Third Person Singular Number. She is the lead actor and co-writer of the film Something Like An Autobiography.
- 10/21/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
A first trailer has been unveiled for Bangladeshi filmmakers Mostofa Sarwar Farooki and Nusrat Imrose Tisha’s “Something Like an Autobiography.”
The film has its world premiere at the Busan International Film Festival, where it is in the prestigious Jiseok competition. The film follows Dhaka-based married couple, the filmmaker Farhan (Farooki) and actor Tithi (Tisha), who are under societal pressure to have a baby. Tithi conceives and towards the end of her pregnancy term an incident occurs that throws into sharp relief some realities of contemporary Bangladeshi society.
The title, a nod to Kurosawa Akira’s celebrated memoir, is also reflective of the real lives of Farooki and Tisha, a real-life celebrity couple who are the most recognized filmmaker and actor in Bangladesh, respectively.
Farooki previously directed and Tisha starred in “Television,” which closed Busan in 2012. More of the couple’s collaborations have played at Busan.
The screenplay of “Something...
The film has its world premiere at the Busan International Film Festival, where it is in the prestigious Jiseok competition. The film follows Dhaka-based married couple, the filmmaker Farhan (Farooki) and actor Tithi (Tisha), who are under societal pressure to have a baby. Tithi conceives and towards the end of her pregnancy term an incident occurs that throws into sharp relief some realities of contemporary Bangladeshi society.
The title, a nod to Kurosawa Akira’s celebrated memoir, is also reflective of the real lives of Farooki and Tisha, a real-life celebrity couple who are the most recognized filmmaker and actor in Bangladesh, respectively.
Farooki previously directed and Tisha starred in “Television,” which closed Busan in 2012. More of the couple’s collaborations have played at Busan.
The screenplay of “Something...
- 10/5/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Mujib – The Making of a Nation, an India-Bangladesh co-production on the life of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was Screened at TIFF on Wednesday, September 13, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. at Bell Cinema Lightbox 7. Directed by renowned Indian director Shyam Benegal under the Audio Visual Co-Production Agreement between The Republic of India and The People’s Republic of Bangladesh, the film was shot extensively between the two countries, while strictly abiding by all the health guidelines during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Delighted to be unveiling the film at this prestigious festival. I’m sure the story of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his journey to create the Nation of Bangladesh will echo with the people and communities across the globe. It has been an honour to be able to tell this inspiring story of the Making of a Nation,” said Shyam Benegal.
“I’m brimming with emotions at this screening of Mujib – the making of a nation,...
“Delighted to be unveiling the film at this prestigious festival. I’m sure the story of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his journey to create the Nation of Bangladesh will echo with the people and communities across the globe. It has been an honour to be able to tell this inspiring story of the Making of a Nation,” said Shyam Benegal.
“I’m brimming with emotions at this screening of Mujib – the making of a nation,...
- 9/14/2023
- by Editorial Desk
Mujib – The Making of a Nation, an India-Bangladesh co-production on the life of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was Screened at TIFF on Wednesday, September 13, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. at Bell Cinema Lightbox 7. Directed by renowned Indian director Shyam Benegal under the Audio Visual Co-Production Agreement between The Republic of India and The People’s Republic of Bangladesh, the film was shot extensively between the two countries, while strictly abiding by all the health guidelines during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Delighted to be unveiling the film at this prestigious festival. I’m sure the story of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his journey to create the Nation of Bangladesh will echo with the people and communities across the globe. It has been an honour to be able to tell this inspiring story of the Making of a Nation,” said Shyam Benegal.
“I’m brimming with emotions at this screening of Mujib – the making of a nation,...
“Delighted to be unveiling the film at this prestigious festival. I’m sure the story of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his journey to create the Nation of Bangladesh will echo with the people and communities across the globe. It has been an honour to be able to tell this inspiring story of the Making of a Nation,” said Shyam Benegal.
“I’m brimming with emotions at this screening of Mujib – the making of a nation,...
- 9/14/2023
- by Editorial Desk
- GlamSham
The New Currents and Jiseok selections include features from Japan, China, South Korea and Bangladesh among others.
The 28th Busan International Film Festival has revealed the titles selected for its New Currents and Jiseok strands, the festival’s competitive sections for Asian films.
Scroll down for full list
New Currents is for films by directors making their first or second works of fiction and comprises 10 titles from Japan, China, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, India and Bangladesh.
They include September 1923, which marks the fiction feature debut of Japanese director Tatsuya Mori and centres on the Great Kantō earthquake of 1923. Mori is known as a documentary filmmaker,...
The 28th Busan International Film Festival has revealed the titles selected for its New Currents and Jiseok strands, the festival’s competitive sections for Asian films.
Scroll down for full list
New Currents is for films by directors making their first or second works of fiction and comprises 10 titles from Japan, China, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, India and Bangladesh.
They include September 1923, which marks the fiction feature debut of Japanese director Tatsuya Mori and centres on the Great Kantō earthquake of 1923. Mori is known as a documentary filmmaker,...
- 8/30/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
The main competition section of the Busan International Film Festival is set to showcase two new features from Bangladeshi directors, the feature debut of Japanese documentary maker Mori Tatsuya and ruminations on Hong Kong by mainland Chinese director Choi Ji.
The festival on Wednesday unveiled its New Currents competition section, reserved for films by directors making their first or second works of fiction, as well as its Jiseok section, a showcase for somewhat more established Asian auteurs.
In addition to the Bangladesh duo, New Currents includes two films from Japan, two from Korea and one each from China, Thailand, Malaysia and India.
From Bangladesh, Iqbal H. Chowdhury’s “The Wrestler” sees an old fisherman challenge a wrestling champion to combat, and in “The Stranger” Biplob Sarkar tells a coming-of-age, gender-identity tale.
From Japan, Mori recounts the events of the Great Kanto earthquake in “September 1923,” while Yamamoto Akira delves into profound...
The festival on Wednesday unveiled its New Currents competition section, reserved for films by directors making their first or second works of fiction, as well as its Jiseok section, a showcase for somewhat more established Asian auteurs.
In addition to the Bangladesh duo, New Currents includes two films from Japan, two from Korea and one each from China, Thailand, Malaysia and India.
From Bangladesh, Iqbal H. Chowdhury’s “The Wrestler” sees an old fisherman challenge a wrestling champion to combat, and in “The Stranger” Biplob Sarkar tells a coming-of-age, gender-identity tale.
From Japan, Mori recounts the events of the Great Kanto earthquake in “September 1923,” while Yamamoto Akira delves into profound...
- 8/30/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Auteur Mostofa Sarwar Farooki is spearheading “Ministry of Love,” a 12-film anthology by the leading lights of the Bangladesh film industry for streamer Chorki.
The broad theme of the films will be love. Farooki, a celebrated filmmaker whose work including “Television,” “Saturday Afternoon” and “No Land’s Man,” has travelled to festivals worldwide, will co-produce the project on behalf of Chorki. He will also direct two of the 12 films.
“Something Like an Autobiography,” which Variety understands is heavily inspired from Farooki and his actor wife Nusrat Imrose Tisha’s personal life, is co-written by Tisha and Farooki and is co-produced by Anna Katchko, former Film Bazaar chief Nina Lath and Tisha. Farooki will also direct a project titled “Last Defenders of Monogamy.”
Couple Raka Noshin Nower (“Laugh Lines”) and Shangkha Dasgupta (“Guti”) will direct “50/50.” Redoan Rony (“Behind the Puppy”), filmmaker and CEO of Chorki, directs “Uki.” Abu Shahed Emon (Busan...
The broad theme of the films will be love. Farooki, a celebrated filmmaker whose work including “Television,” “Saturday Afternoon” and “No Land’s Man,” has travelled to festivals worldwide, will co-produce the project on behalf of Chorki. He will also direct two of the 12 films.
“Something Like an Autobiography,” which Variety understands is heavily inspired from Farooki and his actor wife Nusrat Imrose Tisha’s personal life, is co-written by Tisha and Farooki and is co-produced by Anna Katchko, former Film Bazaar chief Nina Lath and Tisha. Farooki will also direct a project titled “Last Defenders of Monogamy.”
Couple Raka Noshin Nower (“Laugh Lines”) and Shangkha Dasgupta (“Guti”) will direct “50/50.” Redoan Rony (“Behind the Puppy”), filmmaker and CEO of Chorki, directs “Uki.” Abu Shahed Emon (Busan...
- 8/3/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Singapore-based film marketing and distribution firm Continental Entertainment Pte. Ltd. (Cepl), which holds global distribution rights for Bangladeshi auteur Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s “Saturday Afternoon,” will release the film in the U.S. and Canada through Reliance Entertainment.
The Bengali-and-English-language film takes its cue from the brutal terrorist attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka in 2016, which took place on a quiet Saturday afternoon and left more than 20 people dead. It had considerable festival play, winning awards at Fukuoka, Moscow and Vesoul.
The film was initially banned and had finally been cleared for release in January after a four year struggle with the Bangladesh Film Censor Board. However Bangladesh’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting appears to have taken a U turn and the situation remains fluid. Consequently, the film will open in the U.S. and Canada on March 10 before its Bangladesh release. It will also be released...
The Bengali-and-English-language film takes its cue from the brutal terrorist attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka in 2016, which took place on a quiet Saturday afternoon and left more than 20 people dead. It had considerable festival play, winning awards at Fukuoka, Moscow and Vesoul.
The film was initially banned and had finally been cleared for release in January after a four year struggle with the Bangladesh Film Censor Board. However Bangladesh’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting appears to have taken a U turn and the situation remains fluid. Consequently, the film will open in the U.S. and Canada on March 10 before its Bangladesh release. It will also be released...
- 2/21/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Bangladeshi auteur Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s “Saturday Afternoon” has finally been cleared for release after a four year struggle with the Bangladesh Film Censor Board.
The Bengali-and-English-language film takes its cue from the brutal terrorist attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka in 2016, which took place on a quiet Saturday afternoon and left more than 20 people dead. It had considerable festival play, winning awards at Fukuoka, Moscow and Vesoul.
However, the Bangladesh Film Censor Board banned the film. “The board did not sanction permission for the movie’s exhibition, both at home or abroad, as it would disrupt internal security and also tarnish the country’s global image,” the censor board’s then vice chairman Nizamul Kabir had told Afp.
Farooki began a long campaign to get the film cleared for release. Meanwhile, he also made his next film, “No Land’s Man.” The efforts intensified when it emerged that Hansal Mehta’s “Faraaz,...
The Bengali-and-English-language film takes its cue from the brutal terrorist attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka in 2016, which took place on a quiet Saturday afternoon and left more than 20 people dead. It had considerable festival play, winning awards at Fukuoka, Moscow and Vesoul.
However, the Bangladesh Film Censor Board banned the film. “The board did not sanction permission for the movie’s exhibition, both at home or abroad, as it would disrupt internal security and also tarnish the country’s global image,” the censor board’s then vice chairman Nizamul Kabir had told Afp.
Farooki began a long campaign to get the film cleared for release. Meanwhile, he also made his next film, “No Land’s Man.” The efforts intensified when it emerged that Hansal Mehta’s “Faraaz,...
- 1/21/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Festivals
A trio of global festival favorites — Pan Nalin‘s “Last Film Show,” Mostofa Sarwar Farooki‘s “No Land’s Man” and Gurvinder Singh‘s “Crescent Night” (“Adh Chanani Raat”) — will open the 11th edition of the Bmo International Film Festival of South Asia (Iffsa), Toronto (Aug. 11-21). The festival is in-person at venues across the Greater Toronto area, featuring 120 features and shorts in 22 languages and some 40 masterclasses, workshops and special events.
Program highlights include “The Orphanage,” “Pedro,” “Once Upon A Time In Calcutta,” “Dug Dug,” “Palyad,” “Shoebox,” “No Ground Beneath the Feet,” “Deep6,” “Gandhi & Company” and “Invisible Demons” and there are world premieres for “Range Road 290” and “Anatomy of a Warrior.” Guests of honor this year are “Halo” actor Shabana Azmi and eminent screenwriter, poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar (“Silsila”) and well-known South Asian industry figures present at the festival include opening film directors Farooki and Singh, filmmakers Anup Singh...
A trio of global festival favorites — Pan Nalin‘s “Last Film Show,” Mostofa Sarwar Farooki‘s “No Land’s Man” and Gurvinder Singh‘s “Crescent Night” (“Adh Chanani Raat”) — will open the 11th edition of the Bmo International Film Festival of South Asia (Iffsa), Toronto (Aug. 11-21). The festival is in-person at venues across the Greater Toronto area, featuring 120 features and shorts in 22 languages and some 40 masterclasses, workshops and special events.
Program highlights include “The Orphanage,” “Pedro,” “Once Upon A Time In Calcutta,” “Dug Dug,” “Palyad,” “Shoebox,” “No Ground Beneath the Feet,” “Deep6,” “Gandhi & Company” and “Invisible Demons” and there are world premieres for “Range Road 290” and “Anatomy of a Warrior.” Guests of honor this year are “Halo” actor Shabana Azmi and eminent screenwriter, poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar (“Silsila”) and well-known South Asian industry figures present at the festival include opening film directors Farooki and Singh, filmmakers Anup Singh...
- 7/19/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Top Bangladeshi actor Nusrat Imrose Tisha is in Cannes to promote her new film “Mujib: The Making of a Nation.” A trailer for the film, a biopic of the late Bangladeshi leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was unveiled at the Cannes Film Market.
Popularly known as Bangabandhu (friend of Bengal), Rahman was one of the founders of the Awami League party and led the movement for political autonomy for East Pakistan and the subsequent formation of independent Bangladesh in 1971. He served as the first president and then the first prime minister of Bangladesh until he, his wife and sons were assassinated in an army coup in 1975. His daughter Sheikh Hasina is the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
Arifin Shuvoo, best actor winner at the Bangladesh National Film Awards for “Dhaka Attack,” plays Rahman. Tisha plays his wife Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib.
“Everyone knows about Bangabandhu, but many people don’t know about Fazilatunnesa,...
Popularly known as Bangabandhu (friend of Bengal), Rahman was one of the founders of the Awami League party and led the movement for political autonomy for East Pakistan and the subsequent formation of independent Bangladesh in 1971. He served as the first president and then the first prime minister of Bangladesh until he, his wife and sons were assassinated in an army coup in 1975. His daughter Sheikh Hasina is the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
Arifin Shuvoo, best actor winner at the Bangladesh National Film Awards for “Dhaka Attack,” plays Rahman. Tisha plays his wife Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib.
“Everyone knows about Bangabandhu, but many people don’t know about Fazilatunnesa,...
- 5/24/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
India is the country of honor at the Cannes Film Market and consequently a massive contingent from the country is descending upon the Croisette. Variety understands that some 400 attendees are winging their way from India, and that French embassies across the country were working at capacity to issue visas.
That stands in contrast with the attendance from other parts of Asia, further East. Attendance of participants from Hong Kong and China is massively down compared with pre-covid times. Korean companies are back in respectable numbers, with some attending a physical market outside their home country for the first time in over two years. The solid attendance of Korean executives also reflects the selection of Korean films across multiple sections of the festival.
“I’m very excited to be back in Cannes, it has been three years for us,” said Danny Lee, senior manager at Contents Panda, part of the Next Entertainment World studio.
That stands in contrast with the attendance from other parts of Asia, further East. Attendance of participants from Hong Kong and China is massively down compared with pre-covid times. Korean companies are back in respectable numbers, with some attending a physical market outside their home country for the first time in over two years. The solid attendance of Korean executives also reflects the selection of Korean films across multiple sections of the festival.
“I’m very excited to be back in Cannes, it has been three years for us,” said Danny Lee, senior manager at Contents Panda, part of the Next Entertainment World studio.
- 5/18/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran and Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
“Mujib: The Making of a Nation,” the biopic of late Bangladeshi leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, is currently in post-production and a teaser will be unveiled at the Cannes Market in May.
Popularly known as Bangabandhu (friend of Bengal), Rahman was one of the founders of the Awami League party and led the movement for political autonomy for East Pakistan and the subsequent formation of independent Bangladesh in 1971. He served as the first president and then the first prime minister of Bangladesh until he was assassinated in an army coup in 1975. His daughter Sheikh Hasina is the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
The film is directed by veteran Indian filmmaker Shyam Benegal. It is a Bangladesh-India co-production between the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation and India’s National Film Development Corporation. THe two organizations are jointly handling international rights sales.
Arifin Shuvoo, best actor winner at the Bangladesh National Film Awards for “Dhaka Attack,...
Popularly known as Bangabandhu (friend of Bengal), Rahman was one of the founders of the Awami League party and led the movement for political autonomy for East Pakistan and the subsequent formation of independent Bangladesh in 1971. He served as the first president and then the first prime minister of Bangladesh until he was assassinated in an army coup in 1975. His daughter Sheikh Hasina is the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
The film is directed by veteran Indian filmmaker Shyam Benegal. It is a Bangladesh-India co-production between the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation and India’s National Film Development Corporation. THe two organizations are jointly handling international rights sales.
Arifin Shuvoo, best actor winner at the Bangladesh National Film Awards for “Dhaka Attack,...
- 3/22/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Abu Shahed Emon, a Bangladeshi filmmaker with close ties to Busan, is back at the festival with “No Ground Beneath the Feet,” directed by debutant Mohammad Rabby Mridha. He braved two weeks of quarantine to be in Busan in person.
The film, which premieres at the festival’s ‘A Window on Asian Cinema’ strand, follows the travails of an ambulance driver in Dhaka and the struggles of his wife in a slowly shrinking river delta, while tackling universal themes of climate change, poverty and societal ills. The cast includes Mostafa Monwar, who won best performance at the 2016 Singapore International Film Festival for “Live from Dhaka”), Priyam Archi and Deepanwita Martin (“Made in Bangladesh”).
Emon has been busy during the pandemic and will continue being so in the months to come. As a producer, he has a raft of films in various stages of production via his Golpo Rajjo Films.
Drama...
The film, which premieres at the festival’s ‘A Window on Asian Cinema’ strand, follows the travails of an ambulance driver in Dhaka and the struggles of his wife in a slowly shrinking river delta, while tackling universal themes of climate change, poverty and societal ills. The cast includes Mostafa Monwar, who won best performance at the 2016 Singapore International Film Festival for “Live from Dhaka”), Priyam Archi and Deepanwita Martin (“Made in Bangladesh”).
Emon has been busy during the pandemic and will continue being so in the months to come. As a producer, he has a raft of films in various stages of production via his Golpo Rajjo Films.
Drama...
- 10/9/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
While the Academy has not yet released the full official list, these are the films Variety has learned have been submitted by various countries in the international film race. The shortlist will be announced Feb. 9 and the nominations on March 15. The Academy Awards ceremony takes place on April 25.
Albania Open Door
Director: Florenc Papas
Key Cast: Luli Bitri, Jonida Vokshi, Gulielm Radoja
Logline: Pregnant woman and her sister try to find a man to pretend to be the mom-to-be’s husband before visiting their traditional father.
Prodco: Bunker Film Plus
Algeria Héliopolis
Director: Djaâfar Gacem
Key cast: Souhila Mallem, Mehdi
Ramdani, Cesar Duminil
Logline: Algerians fight for independence punctuated by the 1945 massacre in the ancient city of Héliopolis.
Prodco: Centre Algérien de Développement du Cinéma
Argentina The Sleepwalkers
Director: Paula Hernández
Key Cast: Érica Rivas, Ornella D’elía, Marilu Marini, Daniel Hendler
Logline: A family drama encompasses the sexual awakening...
Albania Open Door
Director: Florenc Papas
Key Cast: Luli Bitri, Jonida Vokshi, Gulielm Radoja
Logline: Pregnant woman and her sister try to find a man to pretend to be the mom-to-be’s husband before visiting their traditional father.
Prodco: Bunker Film Plus
Algeria Héliopolis
Director: Djaâfar Gacem
Key cast: Souhila Mallem, Mehdi
Ramdani, Cesar Duminil
Logline: Algerians fight for independence punctuated by the 1945 massacre in the ancient city of Héliopolis.
Prodco: Centre Algérien de Développement du Cinéma
Argentina The Sleepwalkers
Director: Paula Hernández
Key Cast: Érica Rivas, Ornella D’elía, Marilu Marini, Daniel Hendler
Logline: A family drama encompasses the sexual awakening...
- 12/23/2020
- by Shalini Dore
- Variety Film + TV
The Bangladesh Oscar Committee has selected acclaimed anthology film “Sincerely Yours, Dhaka” as the country’s entry to the 2021 Oscars’ international feature film category.
“Dhaka” is a collection of 11 shorts set in Bangladesh’s capital city by 11 emerging filmmakers: Nuhash Humayun, Syed Ahmed Shawki, Rahat Rahman Joy, M.D. Robiul Alam, Golam Kibria Farooki, Mir Mukarram Hossain, Tanvir Ahsan, Mahmudul Islam, Abdullah Al Noor, Krishnendu Chattopadhyay and Syed Saleh Ahmed Sobhan.
The film is produced by Faridur Reza and Ebne Hasan Khan for leading Bangladeshi studio Impress Telefilm. The project was the brainchild of “Dhaka” creative producer Abu Shahed Emon, a directing masters graduate of the Korea National University of Arts. His debut feature, 2014’s “Jalal’s Story,” was Bangladesh’s entry in the Oscar foreign-language category and was nominated for the New Currents Award at Busan.
“Sincerely Yours, Dhaka” had its world premiere at Busan and has since played at more than 20 festivals worldwide.
“Dhaka” is a collection of 11 shorts set in Bangladesh’s capital city by 11 emerging filmmakers: Nuhash Humayun, Syed Ahmed Shawki, Rahat Rahman Joy, M.D. Robiul Alam, Golam Kibria Farooki, Mir Mukarram Hossain, Tanvir Ahsan, Mahmudul Islam, Abdullah Al Noor, Krishnendu Chattopadhyay and Syed Saleh Ahmed Sobhan.
The film is produced by Faridur Reza and Ebne Hasan Khan for leading Bangladeshi studio Impress Telefilm. The project was the brainchild of “Dhaka” creative producer Abu Shahed Emon, a directing masters graduate of the Korea National University of Arts. His debut feature, 2014’s “Jalal’s Story,” was Bangladesh’s entry in the Oscar foreign-language category and was nominated for the New Currents Award at Busan.
“Sincerely Yours, Dhaka” had its world premiere at Busan and has since played at more than 20 festivals worldwide.
- 11/26/2020
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s most renowned work was a huge success, premiering as the closing film at Busan, winning awards at Asia Pacific Screen, Kolkata and Dubai, and screening in festivals all over the world, before becoming Bangladesh’s submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards.
The story takes place in a village, where the local leader, Amin, considers almost every device that can show pictures as haram (forbidden by Islamic Law), including television, mobile phones, photographs and computers. As the film begins, his son, Solaiman, asks him permission to buy a mobile phone supposedly because he needs it for his business, but actually to talk more with his girlfriend, Kohinoor, whose father, who has become rich working in Malaysia, easily allowed her the “privilege” of having one. Expectedly, Amin declines, and Solaiman turns to his right hand man, Mojnu, for help, with the latter actually managing to turn Amin around,...
The story takes place in a village, where the local leader, Amin, considers almost every device that can show pictures as haram (forbidden by Islamic Law), including television, mobile phones, photographs and computers. As the film begins, his son, Solaiman, asks him permission to buy a mobile phone supposedly because he needs it for his business, but actually to talk more with his girlfriend, Kohinoor, whose father, who has become rich working in Malaysia, easily allowed her the “privilege” of having one. Expectedly, Amin declines, and Solaiman turns to his right hand man, Mojnu, for help, with the latter actually managing to turn Amin around,...
- 8/5/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Loosely based on the life of Humayum Ahmed, “No Bed of Roses” screened in a number of festivals around the world, winning two awards in Moscow, and eventually becoming the official submission of Bangladesh for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards, despite the fact that it was initially banned in the country (the ban is now lifted).
The main story revolves around a scandal, involving famous director-writer Javed, who leaves his wife for his young protagonist, Nitu, who also happens to be his daughter’s schoolmate. The fact that the two girls, Nitu and Saberi, have been rivals in school adds even more tension between him and his family, and his life soon is completely shuttered. His wife divorces him, Saberi and his younger son will not speak to him, and his popularity is soon substituted by a public outcry, both towards him and his new wife.
The main story revolves around a scandal, involving famous director-writer Javed, who leaves his wife for his young protagonist, Nitu, who also happens to be his daughter’s schoolmate. The fact that the two girls, Nitu and Saberi, have been rivals in school adds even more tension between him and his family, and his life soon is completely shuttered. His wife divorces him, Saberi and his younger son will not speak to him, and his popularity is soon substituted by a public outcry, both towards him and his new wife.
- 7/29/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Double Oscar winning music director Ar Rahman has taken up his next Us project “No Land’s Man”, directed by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, as a music director and co-producer. This is going to be his first engagement as a co-producer in a Us independent film.
This predominantly English language film stars Indian star Nawazuddin Siddiqui alongside Australian actor Megan Mitchell and Bangladeshi actor Tahsan Khan.
Ar Rahman on why he decided to come on board as both co-producer and Music Director: “Time always gives birth to new worlds, new ideals. The newborn world has new challenges and new stories to tell. This is one such story!”
Besides starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui is also producing the film alongside Spirit awards winning Us producer Shrihari Sathe, Anjan Chowdhury from Bangladeshi conglomerate Square Group, Bongo Bd, filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki and Bangladeshi actress Nusrat Imrose Tisha.
Welcoming A.R. Rahman on board, Nawazuddin Siddiqui said:...
This predominantly English language film stars Indian star Nawazuddin Siddiqui alongside Australian actor Megan Mitchell and Bangladeshi actor Tahsan Khan.
Ar Rahman on why he decided to come on board as both co-producer and Music Director: “Time always gives birth to new worlds, new ideals. The newborn world has new challenges and new stories to tell. This is one such story!”
Besides starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui is also producing the film alongside Spirit awards winning Us producer Shrihari Sathe, Anjan Chowdhury from Bangladeshi conglomerate Square Group, Bongo Bd, filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki and Bangladeshi actress Nusrat Imrose Tisha.
Welcoming A.R. Rahman on board, Nawazuddin Siddiqui said:...
- 6/11/2020
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Bangladeshi filmmaker Farooki wrote the film with David Barker (White Sun) as a script consultant.
Award-winning Us producer Shrihari Sathe has boarded Mostofa Farooki’s upcoming drama No Land’s Man, which also has Australian actress Megan Mitchell joining Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the cast.
Currently in pre-production for an early 2020 shoot, the mostly English-language film tells the story of a South Asian man struggling with identity issues whose journey becomes more complicated when he meets an Australian girl in the Us. Bangladeshi filmmaker Farooki wrote the film with David Barker (White Sun) as a script consultant.
New York-based Sathe received...
Award-winning Us producer Shrihari Sathe has boarded Mostofa Farooki’s upcoming drama No Land’s Man, which also has Australian actress Megan Mitchell joining Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the cast.
Currently in pre-production for an early 2020 shoot, the mostly English-language film tells the story of a South Asian man struggling with identity issues whose journey becomes more complicated when he meets an Australian girl in the Us. Bangladeshi filmmaker Farooki wrote the film with David Barker (White Sun) as a script consultant.
New York-based Sathe received...
- 10/5/2019
- by 89¦Liz Shackleton¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
Bangladeshi filmmaker Farooki wrote the film with David Barker (White Sun) as a script consultant.
Award-winning Us producer Shrihari Sathe has boarded Mostofa Farooki’s upcoming drama No Man’s Land, which also has Australian actress Megan Mitchell joining Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the cast.
Currently in pre-production for an early 2020 shoot, the mostly English-language film tells the story of a South Asian man struggling with identity issues whose journey becomes more complicated when he meets an Australian girl in the Us. Bangladeshi filmmaker Farooki wrote the film with David Barker (White Sun) as a script consultant.
New York-based Sathe received...
Award-winning Us producer Shrihari Sathe has boarded Mostofa Farooki’s upcoming drama No Man’s Land, which also has Australian actress Megan Mitchell joining Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the cast.
Currently in pre-production for an early 2020 shoot, the mostly English-language film tells the story of a South Asian man struggling with identity issues whose journey becomes more complicated when he meets an Australian girl in the Us. Bangladeshi filmmaker Farooki wrote the film with David Barker (White Sun) as a script consultant.
New York-based Sathe received...
- 10/5/2019
- by 89¦Liz Shackleton¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
What are your plans for a Saturday afternoon? A trip to the market? To a movie? To a sporting event? Perhaps, like the people in the film Saturday Afternoon, you’re spending the time in a café, and filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki returns to the London Indian Film Festive with a film that takes inspiration from the deadly July 2016 terrorist attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka, a film that is harrowing and compelling in equal measure. Gone is the black humour the director used effectively in his previous films Television and Ant; instead, Farooki creates a pressure cooker situation in which to examine contemporary Bangladeshi society. The café becomes a kind of microcosm, with people of different nationalities and religions caught in the web of this attempt by a group of fundamentalist Muslims to gain attention for their cause.
In the initial stages, the hostages are separated into two groups: foreigners and Bangladeshis.
In the initial stages, the hostages are separated into two groups: foreigners and Bangladeshis.
- 6/24/2019
- by Katherine Matthews
- Bollyspice
Winner of two jury awards at Moscow International Film Festival, Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s latest work is loosely inspired on a terrorist attack that took place in Bangladesh in 2016, features an international cast including India’s Parambrata Chatterjee, Bangladesh’s Nusrat Imrose Tisha, and Palestine’s Eyad Hourani and is shot on a single take. Unfortunately, it was banned in Bangladesh on the grounds it could “damage the country’s reputation” and incite religious hatred (source: Hollywood Reporter).
“Saturday Afternoon” is screening at London Indian Film Festival
The story unfolds a little before and during the attack on an eatery in Dhaka, where the Sunni terrorists led by an older foreigner and Bangladeshi Polash divide their hostages based on their religion, ethnicity and gender, killing some of them immediately, and keeping others both as collateral and in order to “examine” them before they kill them. A number of verbal “debates” begin,...
“Saturday Afternoon” is screening at London Indian Film Festival
The story unfolds a little before and during the attack on an eatery in Dhaka, where the Sunni terrorists led by an older foreigner and Bangladeshi Polash divide their hostages based on their religion, ethnicity and gender, killing some of them immediately, and keeping others both as collateral and in order to “examine” them before they kill them. A number of verbal “debates” begin,...
- 6/8/2019
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui will star in and co-produce Bangladeshi filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farookis No Land's Man. The predominantly English-language film will chronicle a tragic and strange funny journey of a South Asian man whose journey takes a layered and complicated shape when he meets an Australian girl in the Us, reports variety.com.?Nawazuddin recently starred in this year's Sundance and Berlin title Photograph and in 2018 Cannes and Toronto title Manto. His body of work includes films like Lion, The Lunchbox, Miss Lovely, Gangs Of Wasseypur, Kahaani and Peepli (Live).
"The script explores today's strange world, with strong humour, satire, and emotion," said Nawazuddin.?
"I felt compelled to be associated with the project in more than just the capacity of an actor, as I thought this is that kind of film which really needs to be made."
Popular Bangladeshi actress Nusrat Imrose Tisha and Farooki will co-produce the project via their Chabial outfit,...
"The script explores today's strange world, with strong humour, satire, and emotion," said Nawazuddin.?
"I felt compelled to be associated with the project in more than just the capacity of an actor, as I thought this is that kind of film which really needs to be made."
Popular Bangladeshi actress Nusrat Imrose Tisha and Farooki will co-produce the project via their Chabial outfit,...
- 4/5/2019
- GlamSham
Nawazuddin Siddiqui, star of Netflix’ “Sacred Games” series, is set to star in and co-produce Bangladeshi filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s “No Land’s Man.”
The predominantly English-language film will chronicle a tragic, strange, and at times funny journey of a South Asian man whose journey takes layered and complicated shape when he meets an Australian girl in the U.S.
Siddiqui recently starred in this year’s Sundance and Berlin title “Photograph” and in 2018 Cannes and Toronto title “Manto.” He has an astonishing previous body of work, including “Lion,” “The Lunchbox,” “Miss Lovely,” Gangs of Wasseypur, “Kahaani,” and “ Peepli (Live).
“The script explores today’s strange world, with strong humor, satire, and emotion,” said Siddiqui. “I felt compelled to be associated with the project in more than just the capacity of an actor, as I thought this is that kind of film which really needs to be made.”
Popular...
The predominantly English-language film will chronicle a tragic, strange, and at times funny journey of a South Asian man whose journey takes layered and complicated shape when he meets an Australian girl in the U.S.
Siddiqui recently starred in this year’s Sundance and Berlin title “Photograph” and in 2018 Cannes and Toronto title “Manto.” He has an astonishing previous body of work, including “Lion,” “The Lunchbox,” “Miss Lovely,” Gangs of Wasseypur, “Kahaani,” and “ Peepli (Live).
“The script explores today’s strange world, with strong humor, satire, and emotion,” said Siddiqui. “I felt compelled to be associated with the project in more than just the capacity of an actor, as I thought this is that kind of film which really needs to be made.”
Popular...
- 4/4/2019
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Bangladesh is looking to discover the next generation of filmmaking talent with the country’s first anthology film, “Sincerely Yours, Dhaka,” that has its world premiere at Busan’s A Window on Asian Cinema strand. The film is executive produced by Faridur Reza and Ebne Hasan Khan for leading Bangladeshi studio Impress Telefilm.
“Dhaka” is a collection of 11 shorts set in Bangladesh’s capital city by 11 emerging filmmakers: Nuhash Humayun, Syed Ahmed Shawki, Rahat Rahman Joy, M.D. Robiul Alam, Golam Kibria Farooki, Mir Mukarram Hossain, Tanvir Ahsan, Mahmudul Islam, Abdullah Al Noor, Krishnendu Chattopadhyay and Syed Saleh Ahmed Sobhan.
The project is the brainchild of “Dhaka” creative producer Abu Shahed Emon, a directing masters graduate of the Korea National University of Arts. His debut feature, 2014’s “Jalal’s Story,” was Bangladesh’s entry in the Oscar foreign-language category and was nominated for the New Currents Award at Busan.
“The...
“Dhaka” is a collection of 11 shorts set in Bangladesh’s capital city by 11 emerging filmmakers: Nuhash Humayun, Syed Ahmed Shawki, Rahat Rahman Joy, M.D. Robiul Alam, Golam Kibria Farooki, Mir Mukarram Hossain, Tanvir Ahsan, Mahmudul Islam, Abdullah Al Noor, Krishnendu Chattopadhyay and Syed Saleh Ahmed Sobhan.
The project is the brainchild of “Dhaka” creative producer Abu Shahed Emon, a directing masters graduate of the Korea National University of Arts. His debut feature, 2014’s “Jalal’s Story,” was Bangladesh’s entry in the Oscar foreign-language category and was nominated for the New Currents Award at Busan.
“The...
- 10/4/2018
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Bollywood star and globally acclaimed actor, Irrfan Khan will play the lead role in an international film titled, No Bed of Roses, written and directed by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, one of the noteworthy filmmakers from Bangladesh. The bilingual (Bengali and English language) film, titled Doob in Bengali, is produced by Kolkata's Eskay Movies and Bangladesh's Jazz Multimedia. Irrfan Khan's production company Ik will be co-producing the film. This is his second venture as a producer after Ishaan Nair's Kaash. Apart from Khan, the main cast includes Bangladeshi actress Nusrat Imroz Tisha who starred in Farooki's, Third Person Singular Number (Bangladesh's entry to the 2011 Oscars) and Television (Bangladesh's entry to the 2014 Oscars), Parno Mitra (X: Past Is Present) and Rokeya Prachy (The Clay Bird, 2002, Director's Fortnight, Cannes). The film will go on the floors in March end and will be shot in one schedule of 35 days across the hill...
- 3/3/2016
- by Bollywood Hungama News Network
- BollywoodHungama
Terrence Malick's The New World
Criterion has confirmed they are bringing Terrence Malick's 2005 film "The New World" to the collection and have worked with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki on a new 4K restoration.
The version will be the director's "preferred 172-minute cut" rather than the 135-minute limited theatrical or 150-minute wide theatrical. Some color grading videos from the disc release have also been posted, check those out below:
No Bed of Roses
Indian star Irrfan Khan ("Jurassic World," "Life of Pi") will play the lead role in the Bengali and English language feature "No Bed of Roses" which is being helmed by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki.
The story follows members of two families discover the finer fabric of love when the patriarch of a family dies. Nusrat Imroz Tisha, Parno Mitra and Rokeya Prachy also star in the film which begins shooting late March in Bangladesh. [Source: Variety]
Aperture
Stx Entertainment and...
Criterion has confirmed they are bringing Terrence Malick's 2005 film "The New World" to the collection and have worked with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki on a new 4K restoration.
The version will be the director's "preferred 172-minute cut" rather than the 135-minute limited theatrical or 150-minute wide theatrical. Some color grading videos from the disc release have also been posted, check those out below:
No Bed of Roses
Indian star Irrfan Khan ("Jurassic World," "Life of Pi") will play the lead role in the Bengali and English language feature "No Bed of Roses" which is being helmed by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki.
The story follows members of two families discover the finer fabric of love when the patriarch of a family dies. Nusrat Imroz Tisha, Parno Mitra and Rokeya Prachy also star in the film which begins shooting late March in Bangladesh. [Source: Variety]
Aperture
Stx Entertainment and...
- 2/29/2016
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
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