United News of Bangladesh

Bangladeshi feature film 'Jaya Aar Sharmin' and documentary 'Mamun: In Praise of Shadows' have won awards at the 5th World Film Festival Kolkata 2026, which concluded Sunday at Nandan in Kolkata, India. Directed by Piplu R Khan, 'Jaya Aar Sharmin' received the Bimal Roy Golden Award for Best Feature Film, while Makbul Chowdhury’s 'Mamun: In Praise of Shadows' received a Jury Mention in the documentary section. Organised by the Eastern Region of the Federation of Film Societies of India (FFSI), the six-day festival featured 38 films, including 19 feature films in competition from Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Iran, Spain, Germany, Costa Rica, Portugal, Brazil, Venezuela and Uzbekistan. Bangladesh was represented in the feature-film competition by Jaya Aar Sharmin and Nurul Alam Atique’s 'Manusher Bagan'. 'Mamun: In Praise of Shadows' was selected for the documentary section. The competition jury comprised Professor Ujjal Chakraborty, Dr Rita Dutta and Dr Pradeep Kenchanuru. The closing ceremony and awards presentation were held at Nandan-III on Sunday.  Actor Jaya Ahsan, filmmaker Sudeshna Roy and Dr Sisir Sahana, professor at Kala Bhavana, Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, attended the ceremony as guests of honour. Other filmmakers, artists and industry professionals present included director Boban Govindan, producer M Rahman Lenin, actors Orchita Sporshia and Manoj Pramanik, cinematographer Joaher Musavvir Jyoti and music director Debojyoti Mishra. Producer Abu Shahed Emon expressed pride over 'Jaya Aar Sharmin’s international recognition, saying its reception among critics and cinema audiences marked an encouraging moment for Bangladeshi cinema. Directed and co-written by Piplu R Khan, with Nusrat Islam Maati as co-writer, 'Jaya Aar Sharmin' is an 86-minute psychological drama set during the pandemic lockdown. The film explores the changing relationship and shifting power dynamics between an actress, played by Jaya Ahsan, and her domestic aide Sharmin, portrayed by theatre actor Mohsina Akhter. Tanjim Saiyara Totini appears in a guest role. The film was jointly produced by Abu Shahed Emon of Golpo Rajjo Films, Jaya Ahsan of C Te Cinema and Piplu R Khan of Applebox Films. Meanwhile, 'Mamun: In Praise of Shadows' centres on the life and work of renowned Ekushey Padak-winning Bangladeshi photographer Nasir Ali Mamun, who pioneered artistic portrait photography in the country during the 1970s. Festival Director Premendra Majumder said the programme was selected through a competitive curation process involving numerous international submissions.