Bangladeshi miniseries “Annie”, directed by Abdullah Mohammad Saad and starring Nazifa Tushi, has won the “Future is Sensible Award for Best Series” at the 32nd Geneva International Film Festival in Switzerland.
The award was officially announced at the festival’s awards ceremony held recently at Théâtre Pitoëff, located at Maison Communale de Plainpalais in Geneva, according to a press release issued on Sunday.
Making its debut at the prestigious festival as a selected project in the “Future is Sensible” section, Annie secured the Best Series award in the same category, marking a significant international achievement for the Bangladeshi production.
In a statement on behalf of the cast and crew, the team said, "We only wanted to tell a story. Today, it feels wonderful to see that story taking flight on its own wings. Annie is a long journey of a dream built on the trust and courage of many of us. This international recognition has made that journey even more special and memorable."
The miniseries had two screenings during the 32nd edition of the festival, on November 2 and 5 at Le Cinéma du Grütli - Salle Simon in Geneva. Its award was announced at the festival's closing ceremony.
Directed by Abdullah Mohammad Saad, it features Nazifa Tushi in the titular role. Yash Rohan, Simon Sadik, Sarika Sabrin, Farhana Mithu and Najah, among others, also appear in the production.
Earlier, Annie was selected for the “Women in Series” section of Seriencamp Festival, an international series festival held in Cologne, Germany. The selection marked another international platform for the Bangladeshi production. Its world premiere took place at the same festival on June 9.
The producers have said the series will subsequently be released for Bangladeshi audiences on OTT platform iScreen.
Annie is produced by Metro Video, Catalog and Zirel. Ehsanul Haque Babu and Ali Afzal Ujjal are the producers, while Tanvir Hossain, Shihab Nurun Nabi, Tuhin Tamizul, Johan Chapelan, Saiful Islam and Raihan Sikder are the co-producers.
Abdullah Mohammad Saad first gained international recognition with his debut feature film “Live from Dhaka” in 2016. His second film, “Rehana Maryam Noor”, made in 2021, was selected for the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first Bangladeshi film to be included in the festival's official selection. The film subsequently screened at more than 15 international festivals.