Today is the 57th birthday of Tareque Masud, whose untimely death left an enormous vacuum in the arena of film in the country, which will never be filled. Having said this, his works still inspire the new generation filmmakers to bring change in the true sense.
Celebrating the 57th birthday of the late filmmaker Tareque Masud, the first festival of its kind is scheduled to take place today and tomorrow at the Jatiyo Chitrashala Auditorium at the Shilpakala Academy. The festival is organised by the Tareque Masud Memorial Trust (TMMT), in collaboration with the Shilpakala Academy.
The programme upholding the works, philosophy and creative vision of the internationally acclaimed filmmaker, will feature a number of different programmes over the course of the 2-day event. The highlight of today’s program me will be the Dhaka premiere of the digitally re-mastered version of Tareque Masud’s first film Adam Surot at 6:30 pm.
The film which is a documentary on the life and art of the painter SM Sultan, was first screened in Dhaka 22 years ago in 1991. It will be preceded by a brief discussion featuring human rights activist Hameeda Hossain, Bengal Foundation Chairperson Abul Khair, eminent artist Dhali Al Mamoon and leading filmmaker Morshedul Islam. In addition to the main film, a half-hour interview with Tareque Masud on the making of the film will also be shown as part of the programme.
At 6:00 pm, just prior to the Adam Surot screening, a brief launch ceremony will be held for the new Prothoma Prokashan publication, Cholochitra Lekha: Scripts & Songs, a compilation of film screenplays and songs penned by Tareque Masud. Eminent writer Syed Samsul Haque will attend the event as a special guest, with Sazzad Sharif, Deputy Editor of the Daily Prothom Alo, and Tareque’s wife Catherine Masud representing the Memorial Trust.
The second day of the festival will begin at 3:30pm with the DVD launch and screening of Fera, a 38-minute documentary on Tareque Masud made by Proshoon Rahmaan and produced by the TMMT. Special guest speakers at this event will be leading NGO activist Khushi Kabir and Laser Vision Chairperson Arifur Rahman, along with the director.
At 5:00 pm the awards ceremony for the Tareque Masud Short Film Competition will be held. Cultural personality Nasiruddin Yousuff will be the special guest at this event, which will feature the screening of the best films of the competition. Certificates will be awarded to the top ten films, and the Tareque Masud Young Filmmaker Award will be given to the winning film of the competition. The theme of this year’s competition is In Search of My Roots, following in the thematic tradition of the late filmmaker Masud.
