source: https://raindance.org/filmmaking-in-bangladesh/
Cinema, one of the world’s leading art forms, has long been associated with the Indian subcontinent. First and foremost, its commercial development was exhibition-oriented.
Mr. Hiralal Sen (2 August 1868 – 26 October 1917), Bengal’s genius, organized the first film exhibition in undivided Bengal in 1898. Then he went to film school in London and got involved in the film production process. The journey of the filmmaker begins here. Many people continued on this same trajectory and went on to receive advanced filmmaking training in London. Not only in London, but Europe, America, Asia, and especially from the Film and Television Institute of India, where many – Bangladeshi took training.
West Pakistan absurdly claimed that the weather in Bangladesh was unsuitable for filmmaking as a colonial conspiracy. However, in 1956, another noted Bangladeshi personality, Mr. Abdul Jabbar Khan (20 April 1916 – 29 December 1993) made the first Bangladeshi (East Pakistan) silent full-length film, Mukh O Mukhosh, and it proved that Bangladesh is well suited for film production.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Father of the Nation, institutionalized the Bangladeshi film industry in 1957 by passing the “East Pakistan Film Development Corporation Bill, 1957.” The Film Development Corporation was formally established by the government. The journey began with a series of filmmaking activities. Bangladesh’s golden years were the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. There were a lot of social, historical, and folk fantasy movies at the time.
The establishment of the Film Society in 1963 accelerated the practice of art-house cinema in this country. Film education, foreign film screenings, and participation in film festivals all have an impact on the entire filmmaking process. Talented filmmakers began to emerge one by one.
Following the end of the 35mm film technology era in 2000, the Bangladeshi cinema industry transitioned to digital. In the new era, the process of creating films in new ways with new stories continues, but no national film characteristics have emerged due to a lack of consistency in quality. International standard film institutes have not been established, and the media workforce has not been trained. The Film Commission, one of the institutions in charge of establishing commercial and cultural relations between the country’s films and international films, has yet to be formed. On the contrary, however, talent is abundant—an abundance of stories, an aesthetic of locations, and an abundance of human resources.
In the New Normal era, OTT platforms in Bangladesh, like the rest of the world, have shown considerable interest in film production, with numerous wave films being produced. This process is producing a large number of talented young filmmakers. As a result, there is a disparity in the number and language of films produced in Bangladesh. The story selection, making style, and production style look promising. Although the use of modern information technology in filmmaking and its practical success are limited, its efforts are commendable. However, the use of software in script writing, production management, technology-based set building, and VFX – animation is not particularly significant.
In the process of low-budget filmmaking, Bangladesh can be a paradise for indie filmmaking. Bangladesh has this possibility.
There has indeed been a change in the filmmaking style in the Bangladeshi cinema industry, but that change is not impacting the industry as a whole. In this era of globalization, there is no alternative to becoming globalized amid the technological revolution and the green revolution to build a sustainable film industry.
To accelerate the filmmaking process in the country and to help young filmmakers, the Government of Bangladesh provides a certain number of financial grants (through a selection process) every year, in amounts not less than those of the World Cinema Fund in Berlin. But filmmakers from all over the world applied for the Berlin Fund, produced, and eventually participated in global marketing, and the film became part of the world. On the other hand, only Bangladeshi producers and makers participated in the grant process. In that case, the whole production process for most of them is disappointing. And do not meet global standards by any means. The failure of the government’s noble initiative is damaging the industry as a whole. However, there is immense potential for the development of the film industry in this country. The country’s large population, abundance of young people, abundance of cultural heritage, and variety of subjects are all favorable for the development of the film industry.
Since film is a practical art, training for its practical skills is just as important as ensuring its overall universality as a global art medium. A film commission, some international-quality film schools, and some international-quality film festivals will take the domestic film industry to another height by matching it with the world film industry. But the active participation of the government is very important. In fact, now a day’s Bangladeshi cinema is being selected for Cannes, Locarno and more noted film festivals, some are winning awards from Raindance, IDFA and more. Bangladeshi film professionals become the jury member of prestigious film festivals and Bangladeshi film organization become global film forums. These all are representing Bangladesh in global cinema circuit.
We believe that the film industry of Bangladesh will become a part of globalization along with shaping the outline of national films by holding the hands of the youth of tomorrow.
List of few contemporary filmmakers in Bangladesh:
Tanvir Mokammel
Morshedul Islam
Abu Sayeed
Mostofa Sarwar Farooki
Amitabh Reza Chowdhury
Giasuddin Selim
Nurul Alam Atique
Shameem Akhtar
Kamar Ahmad Simon
Dipankar Dipon
Rubaiyat Hossain
Abdullah Mohammad Saad
Rezwan Shahriar Sumit
Nuhash Humayun
Mohammad Touqir Islam
Syeda Neegar Banu
Manoj Kumar Pramanik
