Having received awards at the Kolkata International Film Festival, India, 2023, Jaffna International Film Festival, Sri Lanka, 2023, and Third Eye Asian Film Festival, Mumbai, India, 2024, Nona Pani delves into the lives of marginalized communities in the Khulna region of Bangladesh.
Director Syeda Nigar Banu expressed her excitement, stating, "It is a great pleasure for the Nona Pani team that the film has started its journey through the Dhaka International Film Festival. We hope that the saline water adjacent to the Sundarbans of Bangladesh will convey the untold story of the common people of the country to the world."
“Nona Pani” narrates the tale of Ayla's victim Romba, who seeks refuge in Batkhali village after enduring natural disasters caused by climate change. Her son Sohag accompanies her as they endeavor to alter their fate by collecting shrimp molecules from the river.
The film, produced by Bengal Creations Ltd, features performances by Bilkis Banu, Rakibul Haque Ripon, JoyeetaMahalanabish, Rubal Lodi, Jayanta Chattopadhyay, Bina Majumder, Sukanta Sarkar, among others. It spans a duration of 2 hours and 5 minutes, with shooting locations including Barwaria, Batiaghata, Mongla, Shyamnagar, and Satkhira, Khulna. For its portrayal of the struggles and resilience of rural Bangladesh, Nona Pani promises to captivate audiences at the Dhaka International Film Festival, offering a glimpse into the lives rarely depicted on screen.
Syeda Nigar Banu, an esteemed filmmaker from Bangladesh with a 20-year career and a portfolio of 22 films, is a University of West London graduate and the current director of Parallel Cine Movement (PCM) in Khulna, focusing on mass cinema research.