Bangladesh Makes an Impact at Goa Festival and Market

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Bangladesh Makes an Impact at Goa Festival and Market​

Bangladesh Makes an Impact at Goa Festival and Market

The burgeoning Bangladesh film industry made an impact at both South Asian film market Film Bazaar and the International Film Festival of India.

variety.com

By Naman Ramachandran

IFFI

The burgeoning Bangladesh film industry made an impact at both South Asian film market Film Bazaar and the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa.

Bangladesh feature film “Agantuk” (aka “The Stranger”) by Biplob Sarkar was named as unanimous winner of the Prasad DI award, conferred by the Film Bazaar Recommends jury in Goa. Besides Sarkar, there was a strong contingent from Bangladesh including Abu Shahed Emon (“No Ground Beneath the Feet”), Bijon, who is part of the “Solo” team that has scored CNC funding and Redoan Rony, head of streamer Chorki.

In addition, four Bangladeshi films are selected at IFFI. Noor Iman’s “A House With No Name,” produced by Emon, Akram Khan’s “A Tale of Two Sisters” and Khandaker Sumon’s “Memories of Gloomy Monsoons” all had their world premieres at the festival, while Gias Uddin Selim’s “Vice and Virtue” had its international premiere. Popular actor Jaya Ahsan, star of “A Tale of Two Sisters,” who acts in both Indian and Bangladeshi films, was part of a large film cohort from Bangladesh attending IFFI

“There was a selection of four feature films this year. It’s a pretty rare case, which means there is a high volume of quality projects being made every year. With the rise of OTT [streaming] and the Bangladeshi content industry I guess this is one of the best times in Bangladeshi cinema history,” Emon told Variety.

“After COVID-19, everyone is eager to get new opportunities and therefore they are participating in different film labs, workshops and networking programs like Film Bazaar. More than 10 delegates of producers, directors, distributors and buyers have attended Film Bazaar with various projects in the coproduction market, viewing room and producer workshop. I think in upcoming years it will grow even more in participation as there are a lot more interesting projects are coming up.”

 

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Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, Abdullah Mohammad Saad, Abu Shahed Emon Lead 25-Title Production Effort at Bangladesh Streamer Chorki (EXCLUSIVE)​

By Naman Ramachandran
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Chorki

Chorki, one of the leaders in Bangladesh’s fiercely competitive Bengali-language streaming landscape, has revealed a strong 2023 slate.

The 25-strong lineup is director-driven, helmed by 25 of the leading lights of the Bangladesh industry. Mostofa Sarwar Farooki (“No Land’s Man”), leads the slate with “Ministry of Love,” details of which are under wraps at the moment. Abdullah Mohammad Saad, whose “Rehana” was at Cannes and Busan in 2021, also has an under wraps projects in the lineup.

Abu Shahed Emon (“Jalal’s Story”) has thriller “Mercules” in the works for Chorki, where a woman must find out if the love of her life and father of her unborn child is a rapist.

In Syed Ahmed Shawki’s period drama “Bypass,” set amid the 1971 Bangladesh war of independence, two young riders set on a motorcycle journey throughout the battle-scarred countryside witnessing the conflict’s effects on common people.

Robiyul Alam Robi’s romantic drama “Cafe Desire” features five intertwining stories cutting across social strata depicting inner desires.

Shankha Das Gupta’s social drama/thriller “Guti” maps the efforts of a local drug career to live a normal family life and who ends up facing pressures not only from the drug cartel but also from her own family.

In Sanjoy Somaddar’s social drama “Daag,” a baby is found in the trash and a tormented police officer who has lost his own child takes up the responsibility to find a proper home for the newborn.

Goutam Koiri’s social drama/thriller “Jibon Theke Pawa” follows three couples trying to find a foothold in the murkier side of society.

In Bashar Georgis’ dark comedy/thriller “Overtrump,” a businessman who gets kidnapped finds more solace with his captors than in his regular family life.

In Raihan Khan’s courtroom drama-thriller “Tribunal,” a mediocre lawyer is assigned a seemingly open and shut murder case. But there is more to it than meets the eye.

Shukorno Shahed Dhiman’s thriller “Feu” is the story of a son searching for his lost father against the backdrop of the political history of the Sundarbans delta at the border between Bangladesh and India.

And Raihan Rafi’s drama-thriller “Shurongo” is the story of a man betrayed in love who takes revenge in a twisted manner.

In addition, there are works from Nuhash Humayun, whose “Foreigners Only” is on Hulu, Adnan Al Rajeev, Anam Biswas, Ashfaque Nipun, Krishnendu Chattopadhyay, Mizanur Rahman Aryan, Mohammad Toukir Islam, Rezaur Rahman, Saleh Sobhan Auneem, Shihab Shaheen, Tanim Noor, Tanvir Ahsan and Vicky Zahed.

Operated by Mediastar Ltd., Chorki began operations in July 2021 and has produced 35 originals to date. With the tagline ‘Made in Bangladesh for the World,’ the streamer aims for international quality and claims subscribers from 198 countries. Three Chorki shows are Bangladesh national winners at the Asian Academy Creative Awards, the finals of which will be in Singapore in December.

Chorki COO Redoan Rony, who is also a filmmaker, said: “Chorki is aiming to make an impactful presence in the global content market. In only one year we are competing with platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime. In the coming days we hope to grow more and go beyond our expected horizon.”