A short film made by students of Jahangirnagar University (JU) has received international recognition at a prestigious film festival in Greece.
The short film titled The Haze was produced under the banner of cultural organisation Bangla Theatre. The film earned an honourable mention in the Best Original Score and Soundtrack category at the Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival 2025. It has also been selected for the Best Original Score in Short Film category at the Southeast Academy International Film Festival in the Philippines.
Shot in black and white and entirely without dialogue, the 16-minute psychological film relies almost exclusively on sound design and music to tell its story. The narrative explores the inner turmoil, isolation and psychological breakdown of a man struggling with nicotine addiction, rejecting conventional dialogue-driven storytelling in favour of a purely auditory cinematic language.
This unconventional approach has drawn attention on the international festival circuit, where the film’s soundscape was recognised as its most powerful storytelling tool.
The film was directed and edited by Nasir Khandaker, a student of the 47th batch of the Department of Bangla at Jahangirnagar University. Music was composed by Aniruddha Hridoy, who described the recognition as a milestone for Bangladeshi film music.
The film features Chan Mia, a rickshaw puller well known on the JU campus, and Professor Tareq Reza of the Department of Bangla. The blend of professional, academic and working-class performers lends the film a rare sense of realism and human depth.
Production began in June 2024 with an extremely limited budget. Scenes were shot at Mir Mosharraf Hossain Hall, the Department of Bangla, and Murad Chattar on the JU campus. Cinematography was handled by Nabil Mostafa, while post-production—including music composition—continued for four months. The final cut was completed in November.
The film’s central theme focuses on the mental distress of a chain smoker attempting to quit nicotine, portraying withdrawal, despair and emotional fragmentation through layered sound and music. This artistic risk ultimately paid off, earning the film international recognition for its soundtrack in Greece.
