Two Bangladeshi films heading to Busan this year

South Korea’s Busan International Film Festival, one of Asia’s biggest, unveiled latest plans regarding its 25^th edition. The organizers have decided to postpone the festival by two weeks and downsize by a third to cope with the pandemic-induced challenges.

Busan will be held from October 21-30 in a hybrid in-person and offline format, without any outdoor events including the opening and closing ceremonies. 

One of the two Bangladeshi films selected this year, Ariq Anam Khan’s short film Transit will be competing in the ‘Main competition’ section. The short film tells the  story  of a  salesman,  on  the  verge  of  poverty, who is waiting  for  a migrant  visa to  Italy,  hoping  that  it  would  change his  luck  and  help him create  a  better future  for his  family. 

The  short film  was  shot  in  2019,  and  completed  in  early  2020. Starring Jahangir Alam in the lead role, the cast also includes Sharmeen  Akhee,  Baidya  Nath  Saha, Khairul  Alam  Tipu,  Sharif  Hossain Emon and others. 

Transit will also premiere at the prestigious Oscar and BAFTA qualifying Encounters Film Festival this year, running from September 17 to September 27. 

Titas Zia (Mrittika Maya) and Tasnova Tamanna (Live From Dhaka) in Nonajoler Kabbo| Courtesy 

Apart from having its world premiere at the 64th BFI London Film Festival, Rezwan Shahriar Sumit’s first feature film Nonajoler Kabbo (The Salt in Our Waters) will have its Asian Premiere at the 25th Busan International Film Festival.

A Bangladesh-France coproduction, supported by acclaimed director Spike Lee, Nonajoler Kabbo stars veteran actor Fazlur Rahman Babu, Tasnova Tamanna (Live From Dhaka), Titas Zia (Mrittika Maya) among others.

A clash-of-cultures tale set in a remote coastal village of Bangladesh, Sumit’s National grant winning film shines a unique light on love and resilience. 

Nonajoler Kabbo, the only Bangladeshi feature film to screen at Busan this year, revolves around a city-raised sculptor who visits a remote fishing village on the Bangladeshi Delta, and eventually finds himself embroiled in a primal, elemental conflict between land and sea, man and nature, past and future.

Organizers have however yet to dismiss the possibility of having to cancel this year’s festival altogether if overall safety procedures cannot be maintained.

Festival veterans including Mostofa Sarwar Farooki and others have already taken to Facebook and congratulated the directors of Nonajoler Kabbo and Transit on their successful festival journey.