Celebrate Pohela Boishakh with Sumit’s short film

Pohela Boishakh celebrations this year may have been largely abandoned by most cultural bodies, but we can still find mementos here and there to mark this occasion we hold so dear. Rezwar Shahriar Sumit's short film, "Sumon O Sophia," with its Noboborsho milieu, is one such treat that withstands the pang of the pandemic by making its way into a popular streaming site.

Starring Basunia Sumon and Giselle Brasseur, the short film was made five years ago by the director and his friends at New York University. It is a 11:04 minute drama with the logline, “Lovers reunite. An elegy on a fading relationship.”

Director Sumit was born and raised in Bangladesh's boisterous capital Dhaka. “City Life,” his first short, earned him a place at the Berlinale Talents in 2008. He went on to study at the Graduate Film Program of New York University as a Tisch Fellow. There he produced Barbara Cigarroa's acclaimed short “Dios Nunca Muere” that played at NYFF, AFI Fest, Palm Springs, and Kurzfilmtage Winterthur. His first feature “The Salt in Our Waters” was an official selection at BFI London and Busan in 2020. The film was nominated for the Ingmar Bergman Award at Göteborg and won the NETPAC Award (Best Asian Film) at Kolkata IFF. It also received funds from France’s CNC Aide aux cinémas du monde, TFL Audience Design fund, and the Spike Lee Fellowship.

Also read: BFI London Film Festival selects Sumit's Nonajoler Kabbo

Sumit’s second feature “A New Prophet” is backed by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation ($100K grant), IEFTA, Torino Film Lab and Film Bazaar. The screenplay is in development at Film Independent’s year-long Global Media Makers program. He is currently in post production with “Sorry for the Inconvenience,” a 35-min short he shot for Next10 Ventures.

Cinematographer Jinwei's formation as a passionate filmmaker began early on in life as a product of the influence his family and diverse living environments had on him. His grandfather and uncle were traditional Chinese ink painters who inspired in him a love of light, image and colour. His own artistic perspective developed in a diverse way as a consequence of growing up in Beijing and Hong Kong. After high school, he received a full scholarship to study at Ohio University where he majored in film production. Since then, he has travelled and worked as a cinematographer, director in both China and USA. He has been fortunate to work with some of China's top musicians and actors. He pursued higher studies at NYU Tisch Graduate Film Program and is now in pre-production of his first feature film.

The film is currently available on the streaming platform Bongo BD.

Full Film: https://bongobd.com/watch/ntNJUD4O9m0

Trailer: https://bongobd.com/watch/CrLgQ7JdhZi

The cast and crew of 'Sumon O Sofia' COURTESY