Ekushey Padak-winning celebrated Bangladeshi portrait photographer Nasir Ali Mamun has earned international recognition as the documentary “Mamun: In Praise of Shadows” won the Best Documentary Film Award at the 28th edition of the UK Asian Film Festival.
Directed by British-Bangladeshi filmmaker Makbul Chowdhury, the film received the honour during the festival’s closing ceremony on May 3 at The Garden Cinema in Covent Garden following a packed screening attended by critics, cinephiles and members of the Bangladeshi diaspora.
Blending observational storytelling with poetic visual language, the documentary explores the life, work and artistic philosophy of Nasir Ali Mamun, whose portraits have shaped the visual memory of Bangladesh for more than five decades.
Through an evocative interplay of light and shadow, the film examines not only the photographer’s craft but also the emotional and historical truths hidden within the human face.
Before the screening, an extended Q&A session with the director was held, moderated by Anita Haram.
The discussion featured Mumbai-based producer Siddharth Jain and Ashvin Devasundaram, Reader in Global Cinema Studies at Queen Mary University of London.
Panelists praised Mamun’s photography as a rare artistic archive that transcends portraiture, describing his work as an enduring meditation on memory, identity and time.
They also lauded the documentary for capturing the solitude, discipline and creative intensity behind the artist’s lifelong journey.
The screening drew a full house, with audiences travelling from London and neighbouring cities, including a strong presence of the Bangladeshi community in the UK.
For more than five decades, Nasir Ali Mamun has remained one of Bangladesh’s most influential photographers.
Widely credited with pioneering modern portrait photography in the country during the 1970s, he has photographed some of the world’s most iconic cultural, literary and political figures, creating a body of work that has become part of the nation’s cultural history.
Director Makbul Chowdhury spent over five years making the documentary, following Mamun across cities including Dhaka, Kolkata, Paris and New York City.
The film captures intimate moments from the photographer’s life and creative process while tracing his encounters with artists, intellectuals and public figures across continents.
Stylistically, the documentary embraces a contemplative visual tone inspired by the aesthetics of shadow and imperfection, echoing the philosophical spirit of Jun’ichirō Tanizaki’s celebrated essay In Praise of Shadows.
Rich chiaroscuro cinematography, immersive sound design and lingering observational shots give the film the texture of both an artistic portrait and a meditation on perception itself.
One of the longest-running South Asian film festivals outside the subcontinent, the UK Asian Film Festival this year was held under the theme “Stories That Bind Us,” celebrating narratives that connect communities, cultures and generations through cinema.
