Three Bangladeshi films selected for Busan International Film Festival

The selection of the film "Paayer Tolay Mati Nai" (No Ground Beneath The Feet) was confirmed on Wednesday, which will be screened on October 7, 8, and 13 in the "A Window on Asian Cinema" section of the festival.

Scheduled to be run from October 8 to 15, this year's festival has enlisted these films as part of its "A Window on Asian Cinema" section, where Farooki's upcoming movie "No Land's Man", has been nominated for the Kim Jiseok Award.

"What stands out is the selection of 3 films from Bangladeshi cinema, which has been considered until now to be on the cinematic periphery," the BIFF website highlighted Bangladesh's history-making participation at this year's festival.

Produced by acclaimed director-producer Abu Shahed Emon, "Paayer Tolay Mati Nai" is presented by Box Office and Golpo Rajjo films, and the film is co-produced by Impress Telefilm Limited and Batayan Productions.

Mir Mokarram Hossain is the executive producer of the film, alongside its co-producers Faridur Reza Sagar, Managing Director of Impress Telefilm, and Tahrima Khan, Batayan Productions.

Starring Mostafa Monwar, Priyam Archi, and Dipannita Martin are in the lead roles among others, "Paayer Tolay Mati Nai" narrates the story of an ordinary man named Saiful, who has embraced his miseries while walking through various conflicts in his life with his two wives, family, work, morality, and sociality.

Farooki's "No Land's Man" stars noted Indian actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui and popular Bangladeshi singer-actor Tahsan Rahman Khan in the lead roles, narrating the theme of social discrimination in terms of race, religion, and nationality.
 
The joint venture by the US company Dialectic and Bangladesh's Chabial, in association with India's Magic If Films, Bangladesh's Sun Music & Motion Pictures, and Bongo BD, "No Land's Man" also has teamed up with the Oscar-BAFTA-Grammy-famed world-famous Indian composer A R Rahman for its music.

Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, Anjan Chowdhury, Nusrat Imrose Tisha, Shrihari Sathe, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, A R Rahman, and Faridur Reza Sagar are co-producing the film, which was the recipient of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and Asia Pacific Screen Awards' Script Development fund in 2014. It was part of the Asian Project Market at Busan and was the Best Project at India's Film Bazaar that year.

Bangladesh's maiden entry at the prestigious "Un Certain Regard" section of this year's Cannes Film Festival, 'Rehana Maryam Noor' is scripted, edited, and directed by Abdullah Mohammad Saad as his second directorial venture. The film was also showcased at the Melbourne International Film Festival and is now scheduled for the upcoming BFI London Film Festival.

The story of this 1 hour and 48 minutes long film revolves around Rehana Maryam Noor, an assistant professor at a private medical college, played by popular actress Azmeri Haque Badhan.

For the past 26 years, the Busan International Film Festival has been organized in South Korea every year, featuring films from aspiring young Asian and global filmmakers. The festival was held online last year for the first time, due to the ongoing global pandemic of Covid-19.

Organized by Busan City and the Korean Film Council, in collaboration with the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, the festival has earned its global recognition as one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world.