Well known Bangladeshi film-maker Shamim Akhter’s 1971 Liberation War feature film, “Shilalipi-The Inscription,” will be screened at the capital’s Goethe-Institut at 5pm on Sunday, March 17.
The film is a biopic of Selina Parvin, a writer and journalist whose body was found amongst the decapitated bodies of intellectuals at Rayer Bazaar, a day after Dhaka claimed victory in the 1971 war. It was shot in 2001 and its premiere was arranged at the capital’s Press Club in 2002.
The event is a part of Goethe-Institut Bangladesh’s “Through Her Eyes - A space to watch and discuss films with women filmmakers of Bangladesh,” in collaboration with International Film Initiative of Bangladesh (IFIB). There will be a screening of the 2004 film followed by a Q&A session with its director, Shameem Akhter.
“Through Her Eyes”, a film screening and discussion space, a monthly film screening program at the auditorium of Goethe-Institut Bangladesh, gives film enthusiasts, film students, academics, film professionals, funding agencies, broadcasters, rights groups and journalists, a regular opportunity to watch films by women filmmakers currently working in Bangladesh, and to interact with them directly at the end of the screening.
The event is open to all with a valid photo ID.
Shameem made her 10 minute long non-fiction film debut with “Shey-The Conversation,” assisted by Tareque Masud in 1993.
The same year, she made another non-fiction short film titled “The Eclipse.” Shameem helmed “Kalpurush” in 2010.
“Shilalipi,” starring Sara Zaker, Jishnu Brahmaputra, Jayanto Chattopadhyay, Chanchal Chowdhury, Manash Chowdhury, Samira Haq, and Asaduzzaman Noor in central roles, is her first feature length film.
Her second feature film, “Rina Brown,” was released 12 years later, in 2016. Both movies are based on the 1971 Liberation War in Bangladesh.