Un Certain Regard
Three Bangladeshi films selected for Busan International Film Festival
For the first time ever, three Bangladeshi films - Abdullah Mohammad Saad's "Rehana Maryam Noor". Mostofa Sarwar Farooki's "No Land's Man", and Mohammad Rabby Mridha's "Paayer Tolay Mati Nai", have been selected to be showcased at the prestigious Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) 2021.
The selection of the film "Paayer Tolay Mati Nai" (No Ground Beneath The Feet) was confirmed on Wednesday, which will be screened on October 7, 8, and 13 in the “A Window on Asian Cinema” section of the festival.
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Scheduled to be run from October 8 to 15, this year’s festival has enlisted these films as part of its “A Window on Asian Cinema” section, where Farooki's upcoming movie "No Land's Man", has been nominated for the Kim Jiseok Award.
“What stands out is the selection of 3 films from Bangladeshi cinema, which has been considered until now to be on the cinematic periphery,” the BIFF website highlighted Bangladesh’s history-making participation at this year’s festival.
Produced by acclaimed director-producer Abu Shahed Emon, "Paayer Tolay Mati Nai" is presented by Box Office and Golpo Rajjo films, and the film is co-produced by Impress Telefilm Limited and Batayan Productions.
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Mir Mokarram Hossain is the executive producer of the film, alongside its co-producers Faridur Reza Sagar, Managing Director of Impress Telefilm, and Tahrima Khan, Batayan Productions.
Starring Mostafa Monwar, Priyam Archi, and Dipannita Martin are in the lead roles among others, “Paayer Tolay Mati Nai” narrates the story of an ordinary man named Saiful, who has embraced his miseries while walking through various conflicts in his life with his two wives, family, work, morality, and sociality.
Farooki’s “No Land’s Man” stars noted Indian actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui and popular Bangladeshi singer-actor Tahsan Rahman Khan in the lead roles, narrating the theme of social discrimination in terms of race, religion, and nationality.
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The joint venture by the US company Dialectic and Bangladesh's Chabial, in association with India's Magic If Films, Bangladesh's Sun Music & Motion Pictures, and Bongo BD, “No Land’s Man” also has teamed up with the Oscar-BAFTA-Grammy-famed world-famous Indian composer A R Rahman for its music.
Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, Anjan Chowdhury, Nusrat Imrose Tisha, Shrihari Sathe, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, A R Rahman, and Faridur Reza Sagar are co-producing the film, which was the recipient of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and Asia Pacific Screen Awards' Script Development fund in 2014. It was part of the Asian Project Market at Busan and was the Best Project at India's Film Bazaar that year.
Bangladesh's maiden entry at the prestigious “Un Certain Regard” section of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, 'Rehana Maryam Noor' is scripted, edited, and directed by Abdullah Mohammad Saad as his second directorial venture. The film was also showcased at the Melbourne International Film Festival and is now scheduled for the upcoming BFI London Film Festival.
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The story of this 1 hour and 48 minutes long film revolves around Rehana Maryam Noor, an assistant professor at a private medical college, played by popular actress Azmeri Haque Badhan.
For the past 26 years, the Busan International Film Festival has been organized in South Korea every year, featuring films from aspiring young Asian and global filmmakers. The festival was held online last year for the first time, due to the ongoing global pandemic of Covid-19.
Organized by Busan City and the Korean Film Council, in collaboration with the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, the festival has earned its global recognition as one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world.
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3 years ago
‘Rehana Maryam Noor’ Review: The Bangladeshi movie screened in 74th Cannes Film Festival
An individual has to make diverse decisions throughout life. When a person stays firm about a decision knowing that he will have to pay the ultimate price in the future, the person has to be at his strongest. Rehana Maryam Noor is such a stubborn character.
Written and directed by Abdullah Mohammad Saad, Rehana Maryam Noor has made history by representing Bangladesh in the 'Un Certain Regard' section at the Cannes International Film Festival.
'Rehana Maryam Noor (2021)' Movie Review
Although Rehana is the main character in the movie, the story revolves around the harassment of her student, Annie.
In whose name the movie, Rehana Maryam Noor is a single mother of a 6-year-old girl. Raising a daughter alone, taking care of father, mother, and brother, raising expenses - all she has to do single-handedly. Nevertheless, such people have to be strong! But we see how persistent she is as she always wears her husband's watch.
Read Rehana Maryam Noor screened at Cannes amid standing ovation
Rehana is a 37-year-old- medical college teacher. To prove the insistence of this medical college teacher, the director showed that she was sitting next to the student to catch cheating in the exam hall, and she became successful in that too. The talented director Saad depicted all these small but meaningful incidents to create the context of the story.
3 years ago
Rehana Maryam Noor screened at Cannes amid standing ovation
Rehana Maryam Noor’, a film directed by Bangladeshi director Abdullah Mohammad Saad, screened at the 74th Cannes Film Festival's prestigious 'Un Certain Regard' section on Wednesday.
The screening took place at Bangladeshi time 3:15 pm at the Sal Dubusi Theater in Cane Pale Do Festival building.
The film has received 'Standing Ovation' from the audiences.
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Director Abdullah Mohammad Saad, actress Azmeri Haque Badhan, Singaporean producer Jeremy Chua, cinematographer Tuhin Tamizul, production designer Ali Afzal Ujjal, sound engineer Shaib Talukder, colorist Chinmoy Roy and executive producer Ehsanul Babu attended the screening on Wednesday at the festival.
The second Bangladeshi film ever being showcased in a competitive section of arguably the most prestigious and celebrated film showcase in the world, Rehana Maryam Noor has created buzz among the movie lovers and critics all over the world.
A large number of audiences were spotted outside the festival venue, cued to enter the screening, according to the local media.
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There will be a total of three screenings of the movie at the festival. Both of the screenings will take place tomorrow, July 8 at 12:30 pm and 2 pm (Bangladeshi time) at the festival.
It is of course the first from Bangladesh to be chosen for Un Certain Regard, which translates to 'From Another Angle' in French, and features films that stand out for their unusual styles and often non-traditional storytelling.
Previously, late Tareque Masud-directed Matir Moina (2002) was the first Bangladeshi entry to be screened in competition at the festival, coming away with a prestigious FIPRESCI award.
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The second directorial venture by talented filmmaker Abdullah Mohammad Saad, 'Rehana Maryam Noor's storyline narrates the tale of the eponymous private medical college teacher who becomes the witness to an unexpected incident while leaving the college one day. Being awestruck with the incident, Noor starts to protest against the incident and the system, as the story moves forward.
The ensemble cast of the film features prominent actors including Saberi Alam, Azmeri Haque Badhan, Afia Zahin, Kazi Sami Hasan, Afia Tabassum, Yasir Al Haque and more, in the major roles.
READ: Rehana Maryam Noor: The Bangladeshi Film in the prestigious list of Cannes
Alongside Un Certain Regard, other segments of this year's festival are 'In Competition', 'Out of Competition', 'Midnight Screenings', 'Cannes Premiere' and 'Special Screenings'.
Officially began yesterday as the first offline film festival during the pandemic era, this year's festival is scheduled to take place from July 6 to 17 in Cannes, France.
3 years ago
Rehana Maryam Noor: The Bangladeshi Film in the prestigious list of Cannes
Rehana Maryam Noor got a prestigious place at the 74th Cannes as the first Bangladeshi film to get. The Cannes Film Festival is going to be held from 6 to 17 July. And so, on June 3, the names of the selected films were announced on all social media of Cannes, including its official website. The name of Rehana Maryam Noor of Bangladesh has come up in the list of 18 films of the Un Certain Regard in Cannes. This is a huge achievement in the film industry of Bangladesh. Let's get to know the details of this new movie and its achievements.
Background of ‘Rehana Maryam Noor’
Rehana Maryam Noor, a 37-year-old teacher at a private medical college, was carrying on her work and family life in hundreds of troubles like others. Her life suddenly began to change when one evening she saw an unpleasant incident involving a college female student. From then on, she took the side of that female student and protested against the incident by standing against a fellow teacher. Meanwhile, her 6-year-old daughter experienced misconduct at school. In such unfavorable situations, Rehana was determined to make every effort to ensure justice for that female student and her child by breaking the shackles of the traditional rules.
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Screenplay and direction by Abdullah Mohammad Saad
Young filmmaker Abdullah Mohammad Saad has written the screenplay and then turned it into a movie. While studying at the Institute of Education and Research of Dhaka University, he started writing screenplays for TV dramas. He also made several short films.
Saad wrote the screenplay for producer Wahid Tareq's 'Alga Nongor'. Earlier in 2009, Wahid Tareq directed some TV dramas with Saad's 'August-e Lekha Golposhomogro', 'Little Angel I Am Dying' and 'Akti Jothajotho Mrittu'.
His first feature film 'Live from Dhaka' won the Silver Screen Award for Best Director and Best Performance (Mostafa Monwar) at the 27th Singapore International Film Festival. When it was fully featured as the first film at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), it surprised the Bangladeshi film community. In addition, in 2017, the film was nominated as the best film at the Five Flavor Asian Film Festival. Through multiple vignettes, this black and white film portrays the suffering of a disabled person who is trying to leave Dhaka city.
Eventually ‘Rehana Maryam Noor’ was made under the banner of Protocol and Metro Video. The film has been produced by Singaporean producer Jeremy Chua and co-produced by Sensemakers Productions along with Rajiv Mahajan, Adnan Habib, and Saidul Haque Khandaker. Ehsanul Haque Babu is the executive producer.
Besides, Tuhin Tamizul worked as a cinematographer, Nabila Haque as a costume designer, Masum Mehdi as an art director, and Shaib Talukder as a sound designer. Films Boutique, a German-based company, has already signed a contract with the director-producer for the international distribution of 'Rehana Maryam Noor'.
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Badhon in the title role of Rehana Maryam Noor
Ajmery Haque Badhon, the runner-up of 'Lux Channel I Superstar 2006', played the lead role in Rehana Maryam Noor. More regularly on the small screen, the actress has starred in only one movie titled Nijhum Oranye (2010).
Badhon started working on Rehana Maryam Noor movie taking a one-and-a-half year break from the media. She thinks that working in this movie was the best decision of her career. Bandhan and all the crew are being congratulated for this outstanding achievement.
Apart from Bandhan, the other people who have acted in this 1 hour and 48 minutes movie are- Saberi Alam, Afia Zahin Jaima, Afia Tabassum Varna, Kazi Sami Hasan, Yasir Al Haq, Jopari Louis, Farzana Bithi, Jahed Chowdhury Mithu, Khushiyara Khushboo Oni, Avradit Chowdhury Etc.
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‘Un Certain Regard’ of Cannes
Among the four categories in the official selection of the Cannes Film Festival, the next category to Competition is ‘Un Certain Regard’. This is considered to be the most important category after the Competition section. Unique and different films about the culture of different countries are mainly included in this category. The department was launched in 1978 to bring talented and promising young filmmakers from around the world to the limelight. Un Certain Regard is a French word means 'from another point of view'.
The festival is held annually at the Palais De Festival center in the coastal city of Cannes in southern France. In the hall of this building, there is an exhibition of films of the Un Certain Regard section in the Debussy Auditorium.
This year, 18 films from 15 countries including Bangladesh have been selected in the category. On the last day of the festival, July 17, Judges President Spike Lee will announce the name of the Golden Palm winner.
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A big step in making world-class films
Earlier, the late producer Tareque Masud’s film 'Matir Moyna' was nominated for the Cannes Film Festival for the first time. It was selected in 2002 at the 55th Cannes Film Festival in the Director's Fortnight of Parallel section. It also won the Fipresci Award for Best Film.
In 2021, Bangladesh went one big step further through the inclusion of Rehana Maryam Noor under the Un Certain Regard Division. This achievement will now be attached to the poster of the movie and will carry the value of Bangladesh in every exhibition. All in all, this will prove that world-class filmmaking is now possible in Bangladesh as well.
In the past, however, some Bengali films and directors have proudly uplifted Bengali films in some prestigious places, including Cannes. But after the birth of Bangladesh, if Bengali movies made by Bangladeshi producers are named, there will be none but Tareque Masud's 'Matir Moyna' and Abdullah Mohammad Saad's 'Rehana Maryam Noor'.
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Verdict
Rehana Maryam Noor, produced by Abdullah Mohammad Saad, is a film centering on a contemporary situation in Bangladesh. Besides focusing on some complex issues of our society, this film conveys a message of salvation. The prestigious position at the 74th Cannes Film Festival is encouraging the filmmakers to address the problems of society through quality films.
3 years ago
First Bangladeshi film in Cannes' Un Certain Regard: After Matir Moyna, 'Rehana Maryam Noor' makes history
The 74th Cannes Film Festival has officially announced its selection of young Bangladeshi director Abdullah Mohammad Saad's 'Rehana Maryam Noor', as one of the 18 films to be featured in its prestigious 'Un Certain Regard' section this year.
Following Thursday's (June 03, 2021) announcement, 'Rehana Maryam Noor' is set to become just the second Bangladeshi film to be showcased in a competitive section of the storied festival, arguably the most prestigious and celebrated film showcase in the world.
It is of course the first from Bangladesh to be chosen for Un Certain Regard, which translates to 'From Another Angle' in French, and features films that stand out for their unusual styles and often non-traditional storytelling.
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Previously, late Tareque Masud-directed Matir Moina (2002) was the first Bangladeshi entry to be screened in competition at the festival, coming away with a prestigious FIPRESCI award.
The second directorial venture by talented filmmaker Abdullah Mohammad Saad, 'Rehana Maryam Noor's storyline narrates the tale of the eponymous private medical college teacher who becomes the witness to an unexpected incident while leaving the college one day. Being awestruck with the incident, Noor starts to protest against the incident and the system, as the story moves forward.
The ensemble cast of the film features prominent actors including Saberi Alam, Azmeri Haque Badhon, Afia Zahin, Kazi Sami Hasan, Afia Tabassum, Yasir Al Haque and more, in the major roles.
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Apart from being the director, Saad also wrote the screenplay. His maiden directorial venture was the much-acclaimed film 'Live From Dhaka' (2016).
On this historic and prestigious inclusion in one of the major segments of the festival, popular television director Ashfaque Nipun congratulated the film and its associates on social media, writing - "What a great day for Bangladeshi Cinema and Bangladesh!
Filmmaker Abdullah Mohammad Saad's 2nd feature film 'Rehana Maryam Noor’ has been officially selected in Cannes Film Festival's "Un Certain Regard" competition! This is the first time any Bangladeshi Film has been nominated in one of the two most significant and important competitions at the "Cannes Film Festival"! A huge huge shout out to Saad and Team 'Rehana Maryam Noor’! You guys have made us proud."
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Official website of Cannes stated that on Thursday, noted French journalist Pierre Lescure and Cannes and Lumiere Film Festival director Thierry Frémaux presented the Official Selection of the 74th Festival de Cannes at the UGC Normandie in Paris. This year's festival is scheduled to take place from July 6 to 17 in Cannes, France.
Alongside Un Certain Regard, other segments of this year's festival are 'In Competition', 'Out of Competition', 'Midnight Screenings', 'Cannes Premiere' and 'Special Screenings'.
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3 years ago