Marking Shahbag protests, the biggest movement of the country demanding the trial of the 1971 war criminals, many filmmakers were driven into making films and documentaries.
The monumental protest brought an entire generation of youth on the same platform and was considered an alluring subject for the young filmmakers. Hence it became one of the most documented movements in terms of moving pictures or stills.
Yesterday, at the premises of the National Museum, the Moviyana Film Society screened documentaries on Shahbag protests for public display, observing the first anniversary of the protest. The event was titled Shahbag Andoloner Chalochitra, Chalochitre Shahbag Andolon. A total of eleven films were watched by a capacity audience at the venue. The mass uprising of Shahbagh was the core content of many of the films, while a few others featured it in parts or in line with their theme.
Many of the films screened were mostly by young filmmakers. Tui Rajakar, a music video by band Chirkut, 17th Day of Continuous Protest, a short length documentary by a group of photographers, 71 in 354 Seconds, a production of a private television channel, No Mercy and Gonodabi by Saiful Islam Jarnal, Join The Fight by Nusrat Khan, Bangladesh-er Hridoy by Saful Wadud Helal, My Both Hands by Mahbubur Rahman, Amar Protibad by Reshmi Ahmed, Joy Bangla by Molla Sagar and Song of Unsung by Shameema Binte Rahman were screened at the event.
The most attractive aspect of the screening was the variety of films showcased, ranging widely in terms of style, duration and content.
For instance, 17th Day of Continuous Protest is a short documentary created by a group of photographers who took top shots of Shahbag, the protesting venue, every three seconds on the seventeenth day of the protests. My Both Hands, is a symbolic film featuring short explode of clips manipulated graphically for dramatic effects and the audio track used are only ambient sounds.
Another documentary titled Join the Fight was the first documentary of the mass movement. It is rather just a compilation of clips of the first three days of the movement with background music.
Song of Unsung was rich in content, portraying information, insights thorough a narration. On the other hand, Amar Protibad was a first-person narrative by filmmaker-journalist Shameema Akhtar. It includes events from the pre-liberation days to current affairs, taking the spectator through personal reflections of the history of Bangladesh.
Belayat Hossain Mamun, president of Moviyana Film Society thinks that the films on Shahbag protests portrayed the ambience and nature of the early mass protests. He said: ‘’The central platform of the protests, Ganajagaran Mancha should take responsibility to showcase these significant works throughout the country.’’
