The High Court has banned screenings of Rana Plaza, a film about Reshma Begum, the garment worker who was rescued from the debris 17 days after the Rana Plaza complex collapsed on April 24, 2013, killing 1,136 people and injuring nearly 1,200 others.
Sirajul Islam Rony, president of the Bangladesh National Garments Workers Employee League, brought a petition to stay the film’s release on the grounds that it “will spark negative reactions among people at home and abroad,” and hamper attempts to restore GSP trade privileges from the United States.
It is concerning that the court should over-rule the release of this Bangladeshi made film on such spurious and overtly political grounds.
Rana Plaza is a well-known event that had a massive impact all around the world. A film about it is to be expected as part of the public interest generated by such tragedies. It is absurd to suggest, as the petitioner has claimed, that this film may discourage workers, or be taken into account by a foreign government in determining its trade policy.
The Bangladesh Film Censor Board is constrained by many detailed guidelines which are arguably onerous, and ought to be updated to become fit for purpose. Nonetheless, it was able to confirm that the film complies with those rules cited on behalf of the petitioner, relating to the portrayal of law enforcement uniforms, the use of television footage, and horrifying scenes, and had cleared the film for release.
We see no reason to overturn the censor board’s decision, and believe that it should be up to the general public, not the courts, to make up their own view on matters of taste and artistic merit.
The petitioner’s arguments lack logic.
As president of BNGWEL, the petitioner has sat on the Labour Committee of the Alliance for Workers Safety, one of the brand-led safety initiatives formed in the wake of the disaster. Given the film’s subject matter about an ordinary worker who was heroically rescued from a fatal accident, it is surprising that, as leader of an organisation representing workers, he should seek to block its release.
While it is natural to be interested in how tastefully and sympathetically this film tells the story, it should not be the job of a workers’ organisation or the courts to block its release.
Indeed, regardless of how well made or popular the film turns out to be, we should welcome film-makers addressing this subject matter as it will further debate about and increase interest in worker safety issues.
