The Bangladesh Short and Documentary Film Festival, organized by the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy and held simultaneously in eight divisional cities of the country, ended on May 31. A total of 322 films were submitted to the festival—209 of which were fiction and 51 documentaries. Among them, 'Waiting for Cinema', directed by Saidy Hasan Rabby and produced by Sensemakers, won the top two awards in the documentary category. ‘Silence in the Chaos’ , which captured both audience attention and critical acclaim, won two awards for best director and best cinamtography.
‘Waiting for cinema’ is a ten-minute-six-second film tells the story of Al Asadul Karim Shishir, a small coffee shop owner who lives by his dream of making movies. On the one hand, he is a good husband and father; on the other hand, he is still a man who dreams of making movies. The man, trapped in the maze of life, doubts whether he has loved movies, or whether movies have loved him in return! He comes to terms with himself.
The film is produced by Ali Afjal Ujjal; cinematography is by Sanjidul Islam, sound design is by Sayba Talukder, and color grading is by Chinmoy Roy. The production company Sensemakers has been working on stories by young filmmakers for a long time. It is learned that they are taking forward the work of producing several more short films.
Young filmmaker Saidy Hasan Rabby graduated from the Philosophy Department of Dhaka University. He has been involved in film movements and production since his student days. His journey with Sensemakers is long. Currently, he has started working on another short film.
‘Silence in the Chaos’ tells the story of a marginalized young man growing up in a garbage dump. Shot in near silence, the film explores his emotional journey through betrayal, alienation, and survival amid political unrest. Through strong visuals and metaphoric storytelling, it reflects on how the powerless often become scapegoats during times of chaos.
Director Salma Sultana Asha holds a Master's degree in Directing from the Department of Theater at Rajshahi University. She actively works in both theater and cinema. Cinematographer Sadaqul Islam Jubayer recently graduated from the same department, while Billal Hosen is currently a student at the university's Law and Land Management Department.
Awards were presented in five special jury categories: Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound Design, Best Production Design, along with Best Film and Best Director.
