Best Directors from Bangladesh (2020*)
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Tanvir Mokammel is a film-maker and an author of books from Bangladesh. He was born in March 8, 1955 in Khulna, Bangladesh (then East Pakistan). He has made seven full-length feature films and fourteen documentaries till date (2018).
His films, some of which have received national and international awards are - Nodir Naam Modhumoti (1996) (The River Named Modhumoti), a deconstruction of the William Shakespeare's Hamlet-story on the backdrop of Bangladesh's liberation war against Pakistan in 1971; Chitra Nodir Pare (1999) (Quiet Flows the River Chitra), plight of a Hindu family who after the partition of India in 1947 refused to migrate to India from the then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh); Lalsalu (2001) (A Tree Without Roots), based on a novel by Syed Waliullah about a Mullah who established a false shrine; Lalon (2004), a bio-pic of Fakir Lalon Shah, the famous baul song-composer of the 19th century rural Bengal; Rabeya (2008) (The Sister), a filmed deconstruction of the Greek play "Antigone" by Sophocles; Jibondhuli (2014) (The Drummer), a story of the destiny of a poor low-caste Hindu drummer during the liberation war of Bangladesh against Pakistan; Rupsha Nodir Banke (2020), a chronicle of the life of a leftist politician who was killed by Razakars during the 1971 Liberation War.
Tanvir Mokammel's prominent documentaries are - Achin Pakhi (1996) (The Unknown Bard), a bio-pic of Fakir Lalon Shah and his baul ideas; Teardrops of Karnaphuli (2005) (Karnaphulir Kanna), about the political conflict between the Chakma and other ethnic peoples of the Chittagong hill tracts against the Bengalees; Bonojatri (2005) (Riders to the Sundarbans), a documentary about the journey of the poor fishermen's wives through the mangrove forest of the Sunderbans to reach the sea; Oie Jamuna (2002) (A Tale of the Jamuna River), a journey-film about the Jamuna river depicting the condition of the river and the relationship of the river with the people living beside it; Bostrobalikara: Garment Girls of Bangladesh (2007), a documentary which follows three garment girls who came to work from village to the big city Dhaka and through them depict the condition of this billion dollar export-oriented industry in Bangladesh, the price war and the wage factor of the workers; Tajuddin Ahmad: An Unsung Hero (2007) (Nissongo Sarathi), a bio-pic of Tajuddin Ahmad, the first prime minister of Bangladesh who, in absence of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, led the Bangladesh liberation war and was later killed inside Dhaka central jail; Swapnabhumi (2007) (The Promised Land), depicts the plight of the Urdu-speaking Muslims from Bihar, popularly Known as the "Biharis" who had migrated from India in 1947 to live in the then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh); Images and Impressions (1999), a documentary about the International People's College (IPC) in Helsingør, Denmark where the film-maker taught for a few months; 1971 (2011), a mega-documentary on the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971; The Japanese Wife (2012) (Japani Bodhu), a documentary on Hariprobha Takeda, the first Bengalee woman who wrote a travelogue on Japan and used to read Bengali news from the Tokyo Radio for Subhas Chandra Bose's Azad Hind Fouz.
Tanvir Mokammel's important books are "A Brief History of World Cinema", "The Art of Cinema", "Charlie Chaplin: Conquests of the Vagabond" (a book on the life and art of Charles Chaplin), "Syed Waliullah, Sisyphus and Quest of Tradition in Novel" (a literary criticism on the work of novelist Syed Waliullah), translation of Maxim Gorky's play "The Lower Depth", "Grundtvig and Folk Education", a book on the alternative educational ideas and Nikolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig's educational concepts.
During his youth, Tanvir Mokammel worked as a progressive journalist and spent few years as a left-wing activist helping landless peasants in their struggles. Mr. Tanvir Mokammel is now the director of "Bangladesh Film Institute" (BFI) and "Bangladesh Film Centre" (BFC).- Writer
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Abu Sayed is a Bangladeshi origin award-winning film director, distinctive with socio-political content and poetic in style. His films explore alternative discourse of histories, cultural narratives and dramatize the marginalized lives. His Films have shown in many national and international film festivals. He has been awarded funds from several prestigious film funding body. Abu Sayeed is one of the first wave of filmmakers who started alternative Film Movement in Bangladesh with a promise for Free & Independent 'Cinema'. Abu Sayeed remained committed to this culture which started with his award-winning short fiction 'Abortan' in 1987. Since then, Abu Sayeed has made 8 full-length movies, two shorts and a large number of drama and documentaries for television channels. This has brought Abu Sayeed 6 National and 4 International Awards on filmmaking.- Director
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Kamar Ahmad Simon was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Considered as the auteur du jour in Bangladesh, Kamar Ahmad Simon is a new generation Bangladeshi filmmaker, writer, and cinematographer with many international awards and acclaims. A graduate in Architecture from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Kamar is one of the very few filmmakers who has been featured as the Red Carpet film on the Grande Piazza, Locarno's 8,000 seat open air theater, received WCF from Berlinale and was invited to La Atelier Cinéfondation of Cannes where only the organizers reserve the right to invite the upcoming very best of world cinema. La Bibliothèque publique d'information (BPI) France, Johns Hopkins University USA has acquired his film and Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI) have exhibited his work. After graduating as an Architect, Kamar started his career as a Creative Director to gather in-depth knowledge about audio-visual production. When Tareque Masud (1955-2011), the only Cannes award-winning director (The Clay Bird, 2002) from Bangladesh, invited him join his mega-period project 'The Paper Flower' (unfinished). For all the technical skills Kamar explored online and built a basic studio setup of camera, sound, gears and an alternate projection setup on his own. To advance his learning with no film school in the country, Kamar enrolled into programs like Berlinale Talents, European AudioVisual Entrepreneurs (EAVE) workshops (Croatia, Luxembourg and Amsterdam), IDFAcademy Summer School (Amsterdam, Netherlands), Produire au Sud (Nantes, France) and Asian Film Academy (Busan, South Korea). Kamar first came to discussion with his award-winning epic debut 'Shunte Ki Pao!' (Are You Listening!). Made in a style that blends the traditions of documentary and narrative film, it was the curtain-opener of Locarno Open Doors Screening and Dok-Leipzig in Germany. The film was in official selection of many festivals including IDFA in Amsterdam, was awarded Grand Prix in Cinéma du Réel in Georges Pompidou Centre in Paris and Golden Conch in Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF). Kamar received the Best Cinematography in MIFF as well. Screenings of the film were held in Louxor Cinema, the oldest cinema in Paris, Conference of Youth (COY) in Paris and Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI) London while the library of Johns Hopkins University and La Bibliothèque publique d'information France acquired rights of the film. Kamar was awarded and featured as the Red Carpet Director on the Piazza Grande, Locarno's 8,000 seat open air theater for his upcoming film 'Day after...', 2nd of his 'Water Trilogy' For the same he has been officially invited to Cannes in La Atelier Cinefondation, where only the organizers reserve the right to invite the very best of upcoming world cinema. Berlinale awarded Kamar with World Cinema Fund (WCF) for his upcoming feature 'Iron Stream', a co-production with leading German Producer Weydemann Bros. that was one of the top ten producers according to Variety in Cannes 2019. For his upcoming feature 'Iron Stream', Kamar was selected as one of the ten invitées of La Fabrique Cinéma du Monde in Cannes. Sundance has awarded him grants, along-with IDFA-Bertha, Jan Vrijman Fund, Visions Sud Est, Sørfond and Göteborg Film Festival. Europe's cultural channel ARTE has acquired rights to Kamar's unpublished work for it's showcase program La Lucarne . Asian broadcasting giants like NHK (Japan), KBS (Korea), PTS (Taiwan) and Mediacorp (Singapore) have co-produced multiple projects of Kamar. For the love of cinema Kamar regularly contributes in publications, takes part in dialogues and has masterminded discourses where European art-house cinema icons like Claire Denis (France), Viktor Kossakovsky (Russia/ Germany) were invited in Bangladesh.- Writer
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Abdullah Mohammad Saad is a Bangladeshi film director, screenwriter and producer. His debut film is Live from Dhaka (2016), which received Silver Screen Awards for Best Director and Best Performance at the 27th Singapore International Film Festival.[1] His second film Rehana Maryam Noor was selected in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.Rehana Maryam Noor also earned him the Jury Grand Prize at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards.- Actor
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Tauquir Ahmed was born on 5 March 1966 in Dacca, East Pakistan [now in Dhaka, Bangladesh]. He is an actor and writer, known for Joyjatra (2004), The Unnamed (2016) and Haldaa (2017). He has been married to Bipasha Hayat since 23 July 1999.- Director
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Amitabh Reza Chowdhury is known for Rickshaw Girl (2021), Mirror Game (2016) and Aynabaji Original Series (2017).- Writer
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Mostofa Sarwar Farooki is a Bangladeshi film director, screenwriter and film producer. Farooki is considered one of the leading figures to bring modernism/realism in Bangladeshi Cinema, those who have bridged the gap between escapism and reality. "Mostofa Sarwar Farooki could be the next South-east Asian filmmaker to break out", The Hollywood Reporter wrote in the review of his film Television. Variety's Jay Weissberg wrote. "Mostofa Sarwar Farooki is a key exemplar of Bangladeshi new wave cinema movement". He is also the pioneer of an avant-grade filmmakers' movement called "Chabial".
He is a young director in Bangladesh who has set a new trend in terms of presentation and direction in the late 1990s. His first two films, which he considers to be an educational effort, were Bachelor (2004) and Mad_e in Bangladesh (2007). His third film Third Person Singular Number (2009) was premiered in Busan International Film Festival (2009). It had its European premier in International Film Festival Rotterdam (2009), It was also in the official competition in Middle East International Film Festival (2009) (Abu Dhabi).
Farooki's body of work address such themes as middle class angst, urban youth romance, deception-hypocrisy and frailty of individual, frustration about the confines of one's culture and conservative Muslim concepts of guilt and redemption.- Writer
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Nurul Alam Atique is known for Laal Moroger Jhuti (2021), The Scent of Sin (2023) and Dubshatar (2010).- Producer
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Rubaiyat Hossain is one of Bangladesh's handful of female filmmakers, known for her critically acclaimed debut feature film Meherjaan (2011) which faced political and cultural wrath in Bangladesh for its anti war narrative, and its critic of masculine nationalism from a feminine point of view. Her second feature film Under Construction (2015) premiered at New Directors Showcase at Seattle International Film festival and was theatrically released and well received in Bangladesh. Her third feature film Made in Bangladesh (2019), premiered at Toronto International Film Festival and distributed by Pyramide Films. Rubaiyat uses a feminist lens to deconstruct the otherwise phallocentric institution of cinema. Rubaiyat has completed her B.A. in Women Studies from Smith College, USA and M.A. in South Asian Studies from University of Pennsylvania. Currently she lives between Dhaka and New York making films and attending Tisch School of Arts at New York University in Cinema Studies.- Writer
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Dipankar Dipon (born 22 May 1976) is a Bangladeshi film director and screenwriter who predominantly works in Dhallywood. His first feature film was Dhaka Attack (2017). Since 1998, he made one Feature Film, 1 Web content for Hoi Choi, 30 TV Movies ( Telefilm), 25 TV serials, 40 Short TV Video fictions, 48 live-action films for sesame street Bangladesh, 2 Short Films, and 12 Documentaries.- Director
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Shihab Shaheen is a Bangladeshi acclaimed director, producer and screenwriter has gained prominence in the television fraternity with productions like Romijer Ayna, X Factor, Bhalobashi Tai, Bhalobashi Tai Bhaobeshe Jai, Monforing er Golpo, Monsuba Junction, Nilpori Nilanjona, Nil Projapoti, Bini Shutor Taan.and numerous other tele-fictions over the past eighteen years. He made his debut in films with Chuye Dile Mon in 2015. It received mostly positive reviews from the critics and audience. Shaheen's direction was praised, and the film emerged as a major commercial success. It won maximum number of awards at 18th Meril Prothom Alo Awards and earned Shaheen his first Critic Choice Awards for Best Feature Film and a nomination for the Best Director (Film).- Director
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Enamul Karim Nirjhar, architect and filmmaker, was born in Rajshahi, a district of Bangladesh. From the earlier period of his life he had the passion for searching new ways of doing things. he is known for his use of contemporary themes, complexities of modern times and the social issues in his films. He changed different professions like graphic design, photography, interior design and architecture and then he started his journey as a filmmaker. He primarily finds inspiration for his films from the contemporary reality that we live in. Nirjhar had his first solo art exhibition 1978, organized by Bangladesh parishad, an agency of information ministry of Bangladesh government at a young age. after this successful exhibition he got inspired and concentrated on art and photography. initially he made a few documentaries like the shadow gap (2003) about the comparison of the culture and spiritual difference between people of east and west, once upon a time!(2004), the architect (2005), and others then stepped in to make his first feature film aha in 2007 where he was the writer, director, lyricist and producer. as a source of inspiration the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971 had a deep impact on his mind which later on had a lasting impact on his creative journey in the later years. feature films: aha! (2007) was based on the alienation of people in a society on the verge of massively aggressive urbanization. It won national award in 4 categories best director, cinematography, editing and best song and traveled to different film festivals like, Dubai film festival, munich, cairo, and kolkata etc. it also got the national nomination from Bangladesh for the 81st academy awards. nomuna-the example (2009) is a social satire based upon the twisted political reality of bangladesh.- Director
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Morshedul Islam was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh on December 1, 1958. He made his film making debut in 1984 with the short film "Agami" while he was a student. He completed his Bachelor and Master degree in Pharmacy from the University of Dhaka. After participating in a film appreciation course organized by Bangladesh Film Institute & Archive, started making his first film "Agami" (Time Ahead), a short fiction, in 1982 about the Great War of Liberation of Bangladesh, when he was a student of the University of Dhaka. 'Agami' won the 'Silver Peacock' award for best direction in 10th International Film Festival of India, New Delhi in 1985. It also won the National Award for best short film and was shown in many international film festivals. The success of 'Agami', the first independent short film of the country, performed a leading role to establish an alternative film movement in Bangladesh. He made his first children's film 'Dipu Number Two' in 1996. The film was acclaimed by the audience, particularly by the young people. Made four films for children so far. Besides film making, is actively involved with the film society movement of the country. Served as the General Secretary of the Bangladesh Federation of Film Societies from 1988-1994, Asian Regional Secretary of the International Federation of Film Societies from 1991-1995 and President of the Bangladesh Federation of Film Societies from July 2006 to June 2009. Founded Children's Film Society Bangladesh in 2006 and serving as the Honorary Festival Director of International Children's Film Festival Bangladesh. His wife Munira Morshed Munni, a photographer, is also known as a film activist and is the general secretary of the Children's Film society Bangladesh.- Writer
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Badrul Anam Saud is known for Gohin Baluchor (2017), Shyama Kabya (2023) and Khondo Golpo 1971 (2011).- Director
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Fakhrul Arefeen Khan is an acclaimed Bangladeshi filmmaker, writer, and director. He began his journey in the film industry in 1997 as a film activist and later ventured into independent filmmaking while studying International Affairs at Jahangirnagar University. In 2007, Arefeen made his mark as a filmmaker with his national award-winning documentary, "Al Badr." The film garnered critical acclaim and was not only honored with the prestigious National Award for Best Documentary but also screened at esteemed international film festivals such as the Commonwealth Film Festival, SAARC Film Festival, and Ankara Film Festival. Building on the success of "Al Badr," Khan continued to delve into research-based documentary filmmaking. He released two more critically acclaimed documentaries, namely "The Speech: Liberation of Bangladesh, 1971" and "Hawker Ghar: Struggle of a Devotee of Lalan Saije, an Independent Philosopher." Both films received praise for their compelling content, meticulous production, and authentic research. In 2013, Arefeen ventured into feature filmmaking with his debut film "Aim in Life," although it did not see a theatrical release. However, his subsequent feature film, "Bhuban Majhi" (2016), won the National Film Grant from the Ministry of Information, Bangladesh. "Bhuban Majhi" received international recognition and was screened in numerous film festivals across 17 countries. Khan's directorial journey continued with the full-length feature films "Gondi" (2020) and "JK 1971" (2023). "Gondi" garnered critical acclaim and was honored with the National Award in the 45th Bangladesh National Film Awards held in 2022, further solidifying Khan's reputation as a celebrated filmmaker in the country. Notably, "Gondi" (2020) itself received three national awards, further highlighting its exceptional quality and impact. The film's success was a testament to Khan's storytelling prowess and his ability to create compelling narratives that resonate with audiences. Furthermore, Arefeen's recent film "JK 1971" (2023) has received significant recognition on the international stage. It was honored with the Best Historical Film award at the Mumbai International Film Festival in 2022, recognizing the film's excellence in portraying historical events. The film's success continued as it received the Best Narrative Feature Film award at the Istanbul Film Festival, further solidifying Khan's reputation as a filmmaker with a distinct storytelling approach. Additionally, "JK 1971" was awarded the Special Audiences Award at the Dhaka International Film Festival, reflecting its ability to captivate and resonate with viewers on a profound level. These achievements highlight Khan's talent, dedication, and commitment to producing impactful films that transcend boundaries. Through his compelling narratives and exceptional storytelling, Fakhrul Arefeen Khan has become a prominent figure in the Bangladeshi film industry, garnering recognition and acclaim both nationally and internationally.- Writer
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Zahidur Rahim Anjan is known for Meghmallar (2014) and Golpo Shongkhep (2018).