Film Shunte Ki Pao! (Are You Listening!) is going to be screened at the Jahangirnagar University today. The screening of the film has been organised by Zahir Raihan Film Society and will be showcased at Zahir Raihan auditorium, Jahangirnagar University at 3pm, 5pm and 7pm. The film is produced by Sara Afrin and directed by Kamar Ahmad Simon. Tickets will be available before the screening of the film at the auditorium.
Rakhi lives with her man Soumen and son Rahul in a small village named Sutarkhali next to the mangrove forests of Sundarbans in the coastal belt of Bangladesh. Along with around hundred other families, they live on the land for generations. On May 25 2009, when Rahul is only four years old, a tidal surge sweeps over the coasts of Bangladesh flooding the entire village and the lands they cultivate. Life changes for Rakhi, Soumen and Rahul as the entire village takes refuge on an age-old dyke, surviving on relief from outside. Shunte Ki Pao! is about a mother’s hope to ensure a dignified future for her son. It’s about a jobless husband’s frustration for failing to provide for his family, and a community’s struggle to get back the land they have lost.
The film released at the capital’s Star Cineplex on February 21. The film had its world premiere at the 55th DOK Leipzig in Germany as the “Curtain-Opener” of the festival on October 29, 2012.
As a tribute to eminent filmmaker Tareque Masud, Shunte Ki Pao! received the Grand Prix for best film in the 35th Cinema Du Reel, one of the major festivals in Europe, held in Paris last year. This year, the film won the Golden Conch for best documentary in 13th Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF). The film also achieved the award for best cinematography.
Shunte Ki Pao! has won the jury award at Film Southasia (FSA) 2013. It was also in the ‘Official Selection’ of the 25th International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam (IDFA) in Netherlands (2012). The film has already screened in twenty International film festivals.