Director Nuhash Humayun has opened new horizons for Bangladeshi films. His short film “Moshari” qualified for the Oscars and feature “Pett Kata Shaw” is premiering at the prestigious International Film Festival of Rotterdam. These are both firsts in our cinematic history in a few ways, which the young director gets into in his sessions on the first day at the 10th edition of Dhaka Lit Fest.
‘Moshari' and other horrors
Nuhash has always experimented with horror comedy, but this is the first time he plunged into pure horror, according to the director. This independently produced short film fought tooth and nail to get an Oscar nomination. Although it missed out at the shortlisting stage, it was named as a forerunner in the Oscar race by some of the world's most credible film publications. The short also onboarded Oscar winners Jordan Peele and Riz Ahmed as Executive Producers after it had already completed its festival journey, setting a shining example of an Oscar campaign from Bangladesh.
It was an unusual route he took, the director explained, noting that his film stands out from the rest of those playing the festival circuit in terms of genre.
“I feel like horror is a genre closer to our genre than thriller. When we try to make thriller content, it sometimes ends up looking like a rip-off of Indian shows like ‘Sacred Games',” he said at his Lit Fest panel.
His choice of genre paid off. “Moshari” won SXSW 2022's Midnight Shorts Jury Award, among other notable awards that caught Hollywood's eye, resulting in their top talent agency CAA to sign him up.
‘Pett Kata Shaw'
Last year, Chorki released Nuhash's folk horror web series “Pett Kata Shaw” to great acclaim and audience enthusiasm. Now its four episodes -- “Ei Building a Meye Nishedh,” “Mishti Kichhu,” “Loke Bole,” and “Nishir Daak” -- have been combined into a feature film, which is world premiere at the IFFR in Rotterdam this January. This is yet another historic new step from the promising director, leading the way for more already released web series to travel the world as features.
For inspiration for this now feature film, Nuhash attributes bedtime stories and folklore that were passed down for generations. “In a ‘survival of the fittest' way, these stories survived out of the thousands of stories our grandmothers told us,” he said, getting philosophical. “Something about these stories are very primal and powerful -- bearing superstition with science and darkness of the mind. It's not just about ‘bhoot', it's about the real horrors of society.”
The project, which was green-lit in the latter half of last year, consumed the team's entire winter. Cinematographer Tahsin Rahman displayed some commendable camera skills when dawn/dusk scenes of “Nishir Daak” were shot in “bhor dupur.” The background score by Abhishek Bhattacharjee and Rakat Zami was created even before there was a script, so that they had ample time to experiment with sound. Taking inspiration from “Annihilation,” and “The Haunting of Hill House,” the team used sarod, harmonium, mondira, and the human voice as the main instruments for the four episodes respectively.
International Film Festival of Rotterdam will be held from January 25 to February 5, where “Pett Kata Shaw” will screen in the Harbour section. Nuhash will then join Berlinale Talents, the most prestigious talent campus for film professionals, which takes place during the Berlin International Film Festival (February 16-26).