Bangladeshi audiences will finally get to watch ‘Anyadin…’, an official selection at the 2017 edition of Cannes Film Festival’s Cinéfondation.
For this very film, ‘Anyadin…’, Kamar Ahmad Simon became the first Bangladeshi filmmaker to be honored as a ‘Featured Director’ at Locarno’s Piazza Grande in 2016, along with receiving the ARTE International Prize from France.
In 2021, ‘Anyadin…’ had its world premiere at the prestigious Tuschinski Theatre in Amsterdam as part of the main competition at IDFA, one of the world’s leading film festivals.
In 2022, ‘Anyadin…’ won the Harrell Award for Best Feature at Camden, one of North America’s leading film festivals. It was also selected as one of just 18 masterpieces that year at MoMI in New York, received a Golden Eye nomination at Zurich, competed at the Festival of Three Continents in Nantes, and was an official selection at Sydney—along with screenings in numerous countries around the world.
Yet, ‘Anyadin…’ has never been shown in its own country. The reason? The film’s political commentary was not approved by the censor board at the time, keeping ‘Anyadin…’ locked away all these years.
In reaction to the release of ‘Anyadin…’ filmmaker Kamar Ahmad Simon expressed, "Art without politics is hypocrisy. Though nothing compares to the experience of people, I feel today—'Anyadin…’ has been freed from the detention."
Previously, Kamar, being optimistic about the release of delayed films, remarked, "The discussion about what Bangladesh will look like after 2024 must begin today. The upcoming battle is over cultural narratives, and in that battle, cinema will be the most important medium."
