BSS: The 5th Hill Film Festival took place from 4 to 6 November at the Khudro Nrigosthir Sangskritik Institute, the cultural institute in Rangamati, organised by Jum Film Forum.
The festival focuses on films made in the different languages of the different indigenous communities, living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
”This year we received three films, which were particularly made for this festival. All of them were made by indigenous filmmakers from the Chittagong Hill Tracts. This is a major achievement of the festival, incepted in 2014. A few aspiring filmmakers said to me that they are motivated to initiate their own projects now since they feel in good company which is another objective met for us,” said the festival director and filmmaker Adit Dewan.
This year, 24 films were screened under seven categories. Short films and documentaries from the Bawm, Chakma, and Marma indigenous communities have been selected under the competition category, and under feature fiction, a film from the Tripura community. Along with the local films, other filmmakers from across Bangladesh and other countries have been screened at the festival.
The Special Screening category covered ‘Matir Projar Deshe’ an acclaimed feature film, directed by Bijon Imtiaz, ‘Felim-Cinema for Identity’ a documentary, directed by Adit Dewan and Turin Tanchangya, ‘Stranger’s Question’ a short fiction, directed by Santua Tripura, and ‘Khumi I Awmnai Rita’ a documentary by Shuvashish Chakma.
Hill Classics were ‘Dulu Kumori’ (2006), the first Chakma feature film from Bangladesh, directed by Tarun Chakma, and ‘Andolot Pahr’ (1996), the first film made in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, directed by Foyaz Zahir and produced by Jum Aesthetic Council (JAC).
In the Retrospective category, two German films ‘From Morn to Midnight’ by Karlheinz Martin and ‘Alice in the Cities’ by Wim Wenders were screened.
“The 5th edition of the Hill Film Festival attracted people from Rangamati by showing them films from home, as well as abroad. For the competition segment, films were accepted from across the country. The audience that came from other parts of the country was able to experience the diverse culture, watching the films. The festival’s motivation is to focus and promote films from the Chittagong Hill Tracts. We aspire to become an international film festival in the future,” said Santua Tripura, festival coordinator and filmmaker.
Three Special Jury, one Best Short, and one Best Documentary Award were awarded.
The Special Jury Award winners were ‘Gomeera’ by Deepak Roy, ‘The Home in Sound’ by Fuaduzzaman Fuad, and ‘A Tale of a Hilly Girl’ by Sing Mong Prue Marma.
The Best Documentary Award winner was ‘Green Slave’ by Kamruzzaman and the Best Short Film Award winner was ‘Redo Songvagot’ by Sujalo Chakma.
The special guests of the prize-giving ceremony were Rani Yan Yan, Advisor to the Chakma Circle Chief, Dr Kirsten Hackenbroch, Director, Goethe-Institut Bangladesh, Runel Chakma, Director, Khudro Nrigosthir Sangskritik Institute Rangamati, Joydeb Roaza, artist, and Shuvashish Chakma, filmmaker.
The Furomoan Goopy Bagha Short Film Grant was awarded to Jarin Chakma (Bablu) for his short film project ‘Nuo Sulum’ (A New Frock). The short film will be made in the Chakma language.
The partners of the 5th Hill Film Festival are Goethe-Institut Bangladesh, Khudro Nrigosthir Sangskritik Institute Rangamati, Goopy Bagha Production Limited, Supporting People and Rebuilding Communities (SPaRC), Hill Resource Centre, and Drik, read a Goethe-Institut Bangladesh media release.
