The National Film Development Corporation of India's (NFDC) Film Bazaar is set to unveil five projects this year at the Cannes Film Festival's Marche Du Films in a bid to grab funds and co-producers.
NFDC Film Bazaar is the largest co-production market of South Asia.
The five projects are Ashwamedh (India, UK) - co-produced by Ridham Janve, Chevittormma (Australia, India) - co-produced by Stephan Zacharias, and Bena (India) - co-produced by Adinath Kothare, Safa from Bangladesh - co-produced by Maksud Hossain, and Ek Mutthi Badal by Nepalese filmmaker Abhimanyu Dixit.
According to Times of India, "As Film Bazaar is South Asia's largest co-production market, films from neighbouring countries are also submitted to the Bazaar. This year, two such projects are being taken from India to be pitched at Marche Du Films."
Maksud Hossain, the Bangladeshi director, scriptwriter and co-producer of “Safa,” has made more than 15 short films. One of his shorts, “Three Beauties,” received the Student Academy Award in 2006. Furthermore, Maksud Hossain was the writer and director of a television movie “Bahattor Ghonta.”
Additionally, Hossain has directed more than 150 television commercials. His most recent work includes writing and directing the narrative short film “Remakri,” which has been screened at various international film festivals around the world. The screenplay of his debut feature, “Safa” has been officially selected to participate at the Co-production Night of Marche du Film, Cannes Film Festival 2022 and Film Bazaar India Co-production Market 2021.
Maksud told Dhaka Tribune, “The best way to tell the story behind Safa is if I tell you how I came up with it. My wife and her mother were in a near fatal car accident almost 24 years ago. Ever since then my mother-in-law has been a wheelchair-ridden paraplegic and depended on my wife and father-in-law to take care of her on a daily basis. After the death of my father-in-law when I saw my wife struggling to take care of her mother even though she had a lot of help, I started thinking what if I tell the story of a twenty-five year old woman, Safa living in lower middle class Bangladesh taking care of her paraplegic mother, Shirin by herself without any help. How will Safa keep her mother alive at any cost in such a situation? From this germ of an idea I started working on the screenplay of my feature film titled Safa.”
India is the first official Country of Honour for the Cannes Marché du Film (Film Market), at the 75th edition of Cannes Film Festival, which will run from May 17 to 25 this year.
