The cultural ministry has selected eight directors to make films on the July uprising under its “Remembering Monsoon Revolution” program, reports UNB.
These directors will lead workshops in eight divisions of the country and produce medium-length films with the trained personnel.
Suman Rahman, a member of the search committee, announced the names of the directors on Tuesday at a press conference held at the Secretariat. Cultural Affairs Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki was present at the press conference.
Rahman said that the search committee aimed to select filmmakers who will conduct workshops in eight divisional cities of Bangladesh in 2025 and create eight films with participants trained during the workshops.
The selected directors are: Anom Biswas, Humayra Bilkis, Shankha Dasgupta, Shaheen Dil Riaz, Robiul Alam Robi, Tasmiya Afrin Mou, and Mohammad Tawkir Islam.
While outlining the initiative's objectives, Rahman said, “Firstly, the aim is to establish communication between young people interested in film production, both inside and outside Dhaka, and to provide opportunities for them to develop their skills and talents. Second, to directly apply the knowledge and skills acquired through the training by participating in film production with the same trainers.”
He added, “There is no fixed framework for these workshops and film productions. This will allow artists to implement their own work methods and creativity to the fullest, and they will be more comfortable creating artistic, politically charged, revolutionary, and youth-oriented languages.”
Rahman also expressed hope that the films would reflect the experiences of Bangladeshis, particularly following the long period of struggles and the blood-soaked July-August revolution. "We hope to see an artistic representation of that in these films," he said.
Cultural Affairs Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki said, “In selecting these film directors, we didn’t look at whether they had done 50 films; what mattered more was whether they had done a work that we could refer to. We tried to see if they had the spark.”
He also assured that the selected directors have complete freedom to create their films. “We have given them complete freedom regarding what they will create. We don’t want this to become another failed government project. We want these eight films to be engaging. We want these films to show the way forward for the future of filmmaking. These elements will certainly be present in their stories.”
The government will provide full financial support for the films' creation. The directors, along with the search committee, will determine the budget. Farooki said that the production work for these films must be completed by June.
The ministry will create a Google form for each division’s workshop, allowing interested individuals to apply. The directors of the respective divisions will select the candidates, according to Rahman.
Bd-Pratidin English/ Afsar Munna
