Internationally acclaimed Bangladeshi film-maker Bijon Imtiaz recently said that a civilized society can not have a censor board. He made these observations at a question and answer (Q&A) session after the screening session of his multiple international award winning debut film “Matir Projar Deshe - Kingdom of Clay Subjects” at the auditorium of the Goethe-Institut Bangladesh on Monday.
Goethe-Institut Bangladesh invited Bijon to talk about “Kingdom of Clay Subjects” and his recent visit to the renowned Berlinale Co-Production Market with his upcoming feature film “Paradise,” which is the first to get selected at the major international film market.
During this interactive session with fans, film enthusiasts and young film-makers, a member of the audience told Bijon that he heard that the recently released “Live from Dhaka” was heavily censored by the Bangladesh Film Censor Board. Then he was asked how he felt about the local censorship as the co-producer of that film which was one of the most internationally successful films of this country.
Bijon replied: “I was trying to avoid this topic but now that you have raised it I must say that I am really against censorship. There is no way a society, which has a censor board can be called civilized. It needs to be removed. As simple as that.”
“Artistes will speak their mind and the audience will decide whether they will watch it or not,” he added.
He also said: “You can go to a cinema, say that it is a really bad film, you hate it and you can walk out of the theatre. You are entitled to do so. You can also say that you don’t agree with the message of this film. You are entitled to do so.”
“Freedom of speech doesn’t mean that you have to agree. It means we can disagree and still sit down at the table, talk and have dinner together. That is why I am really against the censor board and I understand how Saad (Abdullah Mohammad Saad, director of “Live from Dhaka”) is feeling right now. But because of the online medium era we live in you will eventually see the uncensored version. Some of these websites will eventually be blocked and you can use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to watch them and they can not block VPNs."
The interactive session, moderated by veteran film scholar Dr Zakir Hossain Raju, was a great source of knowledge for local filmmakers and enthusiasts.
Bijon gave a hands on crash course to the audience about the international film market scenario with some fresh and exciting experiences of participating at this year’s Berlinale co-production market, along with producer Arifur Rahman.
Back from Berlin with some fresh and exciting experiences of participating in this year’s Berlinale co-production market, along with his producer Arifur Rahman, Bijon shared his unique experiences with local filmmakers and enthusiasts.
Bijon participated with Rahman at this year’s Berlinale co-production market with their next feature project ‘Paradise’, the first such venture from Bangladesh to be on this eminent platform. This was indeed, a great chance for filmmakers and enthusiasts to listen to all the wonderful experiences of the Berlinale co-production market.
Bijon is an award-winning writer, director, producer of fiction and documentary. After the international success of his written, directed feature "Kingdom of Clay Subjects" and produced feature "Live from Dhaka", his current project "Paradise" has been an official selection at the Berlinale co-production market 2019.
Before the session began, Bijon was welcome on stage by Dr Kirsten Hackenbroch, director of Goethe-Institut Bangladesh who said: “In this year’s Berlinale programs, four film professionals from Bangladesh participated - a great achievement. What is crucial now is to share these experiences with the community, in order to encourage young independent filmmakers to start their own journeys. Each new independent film from Bangladesh will add to a more nuanced and diverse image of the country and its society.”
Sharing these experiences Bijon also said: “I feel, in this long journey, the moments of failure showed us the path to move forward. The disappointments of rejections are temporal but the lessons learnt from those experiences stay with you every step of the way.”
