| Formation | August 1986 |
|---|---|
| Type | Organization of independent filmmakers |
| Location |
|
Official language | Bengali, English |
President | Zahirul Islam Kochi |
Key people | L. Apu Rozario, Dewan Shamsur Rakib (Vice President) Rakibul Hasan (General Secretary),Members: N. Rashed Chowdhury, Akram Khan, Kawser Chowdhury, Aminur Rahman Bachchu, AKA Reza Galib, Syed Imran Hossain Kirmani (Festival Director) Advisory Board: Nasir Uddin Yusuf, Tanvir Mokammel, Morshedul Islam, Manzare Hasin Murad, Zakir Hossain Raju, Enayet Karim, Aminul Islam, Samia Zaman, Zunaed Halim, AKM Zakaria. |
| Website | www |
Bangladesh Short Film Forum (BSFF) is an organization of young Bangladeshi film makers. It was formed on 24 August 1986 by a group of young independent filmmakers and activists who were then campaigning for creative and aesthetically rich cinema.
Most of these young filmmakers were initiated into cinema through their involvement with the film society movement in Bangladesh that began as early as in the 1960s. Short Film Forum was formed at a time when mainstream Bangladeshi cinema was dominated by crass commercialism and a network of producers-distributors-exhibitors which allowed no space for artistic or socially responsible films.
The Forum featured some of most notable young Bangladeshi film makers among its members, including Morshedul Islam, Tanvir Mokammel, Tareque Masud, Enayet Karim Babul, Tareq Shahrier, Shameem Akhter, Manjare Hasin Murad, Yasmin Kabir, Nurul Alam Atique, Zakir Hossain Raju, Zahidur Rahim Anjan, Rashed Chowdhury, and Akram Khan. [1]
Bangladesh Short Film Forum now has its own film center in Shahbag, Dhaka with an auditorium, a library, an archive and an administrative office.
The Forum is mostly noted for organizing the biennial and non-competitive International Short and Independent Film Festival. The first festival was held in 1988, and was the first festival in the Indian Sub-continent which was entirely dedicated to short films. [2]
The Forum produced a number of short films, including One Day in Krishnanagar (53 minutes) [3] and Dhaka 2005 (5 minutes). [4] It organizes seminars and workshops on films and limited scale film festivals all over Bangladesh, as well as film shows in its Bangladesh Film Center in Shahbag. [5]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
 | This article about a Bangladeshi organisation is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This article related to a film organization is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
Tareque Masud was a Bangladeshi independent film director, film producer, screenwriter and lyricist. He first found success with the films Muktir Gaan (1995) and Matir Moina (2002), for which he won three international awards, including the International Critics' FIPRESCI Prize, in the Directors' Fortnight at 2002 Cannes Film Festival. The film became Bangladesh's first film to compete for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
The Cinema of Bangladesh, also known as Bangla cinema, is a diverse and vibrant entity, consisting of films produced across various regions in Bangladesh, each contributing its unique linguistic and cultural perspective. Beyond the dominant Dhaka based Bengali-language film industry Dhallywood, which is a portmanteau of "Dhaka" and "Hollywood", Bangladesh is home to cinema in several other languages and dialects. For instance, Chakma cinema from Bandarban, Garo cinema from Sherpur, Meitei and Sylheti cinema from Sylhet, Chatgaiya cinema from Chattogram. These regional cinemas play a crucial role in preserving and promoting the linguistic and cultural heritage of the country. The dominant style of Bangladeshi cinema is melodramatic cinema, which developed from 1947 to 1990 and characterizes most films to this day. Cinema was introduced in Bangladesh in 1898 by the Bradford Bioscope Company, credited to have arranged the first film release in Bangladesh. Between 1913 and 1914, the first production company, Picture House, was opened. A 1928 short silent film titled Sukumari was the first Bengali-produced film in the region. The first full-length film, The Last Kiss, was released in 1931.
Shahbagh is a major neighbourhood and a police precinct or thana in Dhaka, the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. It is also a major public transport hub. It is a junction between two contrasting sections of the city—Old Dhaka and New Dhaka—which lie, respectively, to its south and north. Developed in the 17th century during Mughal rule in Bengal, when Old Dhaka was the provincial capital and a centre of the flourishing muslin industry, it came to neglect and decay in early 19th century. In the mid-19th century, the Shahbagh area was developed as New Dhaka became a provincial centre of the British Raj, ending a century of decline brought on by the passing of Mughal rule.
Nurul Alam Atique is a Bangladeshi television dramatist, scriptwriter and film-maker. Atique received the Bangladesh National Film Award as the best scriptwriter for the full-length feature film Kittonkhola directed by Abu Sayeed. He also received the National Award for Best Scriptwriter for the film Laal Moroger Jhuti, which he directed himself. This film, based on the Liberation War of 1971 in Bangladesh, won four National Awards, including Best Film. He also received the Meril-Prothom Alo Awards as the best director and best scriptwriter for his first film Choturtha Matra. His film Peyarar Subash was an official selection of 45th Moscow International Film Festival and was later released in theatres in Bangladesh and available on Chorki.
The Sufia Kamal National Public Library is the largest public library in Bangladesh and houses the central administration of the Department of Public Libraries, under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. The library was named "Central Public Library" between 2004 and 2010. The library is located in Dhaka's Shahbag neighbourhood.
Mostofa Sarwar Farooki is a Bangladeshi film director, producer and screenwriter who works in Bengali films. His films Third Person Singular Number, Television, No Bed Of Roses were critically acclaimed across the world and received numerous international and national awards.
Enamul Karim Nirjhar is a Bangladeshi architect and filmmaker.
The Moviyana Film Society is one of the largest film culture oriented organisations in Bangladesh. It was established on 10 November 2006. It regularly arranges Film Screenings, Film Festivals, Film Appreciation course and other Film making related courses in different cities of Bangladesh. Film maker & Writer Belayat Hossain Mamun is the founder and incumbent president of this organization.
On 5 February 2013, protests ignited in Shahbagh, Bangladesh, fueled by the call for the execution of the convicted war criminal Abdul Quader Mollah. Previously sentenced to life imprisonment, Mollah was convicted on five of six counts of war crimes by the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh. Mollah supported the West Pakistan during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War and played a crucial role in the murder of numerous Bengali nationalists and intellectuals. The demonstrations also sought the government's ban on the radical right-wing and conservative-Islamist group, Jamaat-e-Islami from participating in politics, including elections, and a boycott of institutions supporting or affiliated with the group.
Dhaka International Film Festival is a biennial film festival held in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1992, the festival was initially organized on annual basis, but became a biennial event since 1995.
Dhaka University Film Society is a voluntary organization affiliated with the Dhaka University Central Students Union (DUCSU) at University of Dhaka. It is registered under the Film Societies Act 2011 and a member of Federation of Film Societies, Bangladesh (FFSB). DUFS is also registered with the Bangladesh Film Censor Board. DUFS started its journey in 1962 during the Film Society Movement. Since then, the organization’s main mission remains the same, which is to create viewers of good movies with adequate taste. The organization had started its journey with the motto, 'Better Film, Better Viewers'. It took three decades of consistent performance and unremitting handwork of hundreds of film enthusiasts to reach DUFS’s present glorious position.
Dhaka is the most populous city of Bangladesh and is characterized by its busy urban life and a variety of cultural experiences, including festivities, cuisine, entertainment, shopping, and sites of interest. The nature of these activities mirrors the secular character of the city's population. Important holidays include Language Movement Day, Independence Day, Victory Day, and Pahela Boishakh. Religious festivals include Eid ul-Fitr, Eid ul-Adha, Durga Puja, Buddha Purnima, etc. The culture of Dhaka is based on the culture of Bengal.
Amitabh Reza Chowdhury is a Bangladeshi filmmaker. In his career, he has directed nearly fifteen hundred (1500) television commercials. Amitabh has also directed a few television films to critical acclaim. He founded the production house 'half stop down', which mainly produces TVCs. Amitabh's directorial debut in theatrical feature film is Aynabaji which was released on 30 September 2016.
Abu Sayeed is a Bangladeshi film director, screenwriter, and television producer. As a filmmaker he has made six full-length features and two short films. HIs films have received 6 national and 4 international awards.
Badal Rahman was a Freedom Fighter of Bangladesh Liberation War 1971, Bangladeshi film director, Film Society Activist, Writer & Cultural Personality. In 1980 he became the first director to create a full-length feature film for children in Bangladesh, Emiler Goenda Bahini. The film was an adoption of Erich Kästner's novel Emil und die Detektive published in 1929.
Rubaiyat Hossain is a Bangladeshi film director, writer, and producer. She made the films Meherjaan (2011), Under Construction (2015) and Made in Bangladesh (2019). In 2023, she becomes the second female director to win Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Director for Made in Bangladesh. Made in Bangladesh was listed in criterion collections hidden-gems of the 2010s. Hossain is currently working on her fourth feature film Difficult Bride. Hossain is also the founder Sultana's Dream, a funding and mentorship grant to empower, promote and support the next generation of women filmmakers and storytellers in Bangladesh.
Shabnam Ferdousi, a Bangladeshi film maker and film activist, is working in different sectors of audio-visual media for the last 28 years. She made about 40 documentary films. She has done many feature shows, infotainment programs, talk shows for various TV channels and organizations. She worked as an executive producer more than 100 documentary films for Ekattor TV, ATN News and Jamuna Television. She is also known as a news presenter and TV show presenter. She has been working as the Head of Program in Ekattor TV for the last 12 years.
Dipankar Sengupta Dipon is a Bangladeshi film director and screenwriter who works in Dhallywood. His first feature film was cop thriller Dhaka Attack (2017), which won four National Film Award in 2017 including Best Film, Best Actor, Best Sound, and Best Make-up. His film Operation Sundarbans got 3 national film awards in 2022 in Comedy, Best Make-up Man category and Male Singer category. Since 1998, he made one feature film, One web content, 30 TV movies and telefilms, 25 TV serials, 40 short TV video fictions, 48 live-action films for sesame street Bangladesh, 2 short films, and 12 documentaries.
The Hill Film Festival is an annual cultural event held in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region of Bangladesh, celebrating the art of cinema and promoting cultural exchange. Founded with the aim of showcasing regional and international films, the festival serves as a platform for filmmakers, artists, and enthusiasts to converge and explore cinematic expressions.
