Rubaiyat Hossain

Last updated

Rubaiyat Hossain
রুবাইয়াত হোসেন
Rubaiyat Hossain.JPG
Hossain in 2016
NationalityBangladeshi
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Director, writer, producer
PartnerAshique Mostafa
Website rubaiyat-hossain.com

Rubaiyat Hossain is a Bangladeshi film director, writer, and producer. She made the films Meherjaan (2011), Under Construction (2015) and Made in Bangladesh (2019). [1] In 2023, she becomes the second female director to win Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Director for Made in Bangladesh. [2] Made in Bangladesh was listed in criterion collections hidden-gems of the 2010s. [3] 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. [4]

Contents

Background and education

Rubaiyat Hossain was born to Syed Abul Hossain, a former Bangladeshi minister, a member of the parliament, and a businessman. [5] Inspired by the works of Satyajit Ray, Rubaiyat pursued her interest in cinema and completed a diploma in film direction at New York Film Academy in 2002. She has also completed a B. A. in women studies from Smith College, and an M. A. in South Asian studies from the University of Pennsylvania and M. A. in Cinema Studies from Tisch School of the Arts at New York University in the United States. Her primary fields of interest are Sufism, Bengali nationalism, formation of Bengali modernity and its correlation with female sexuality. [6]

Hossain teaches Film Studies, Women’s Studies and South Asia Studies at Smith College.

Career

Hossain's works reflect social realism [1] and use a feminist lens to deconstruct the otherwise phallocentric institution of cinema. [6]

Hossain debuted as a feature filmmaker in 2011 with Meherjaan , a film about a Bengali woman's love affair with a Pakistani soldier during Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence. The film was controversial in Bangladesh and pulled down from cinema halls by its distributors just a week after its release. [7] It did however participate at several film festivals and won a handful of awards. [8]

Hossain's next film, Under Construction , was released in 2015 and tells the story of an urban middle-class woman in an unhappy marriage who plays the role of Nandini in Tagore's play Raktakarabi (Red Oleanders). It has been screened at film festivals around the world and received several awards. [9] Including Prix du Jury International, FICA Vesoul; Mentions spéciales de la critique, FICA Vesoul; Prix Emile Guimet, FICA Vesoul (awarded by Guimet Museum in Paris); Best Audience Award, Dhaka International Film Festival, Two Bangladesh National Film Awards in Best Dialogue & Best Make-up.

Hossain's recent film, Made in Bangladesh , a Bangladesh-France-Denmark-Portugal [10] joint-venture is premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival [11] following the participation at BFI London Film Festival, [12] Locarno Film Festival [13] and other major festivals. This is a "film on Bangladesh's garment workers spotlights women driving change." [14] Distributed by Pyramide Films, the film was widely released in France on 4 December 2019 and running for several months. [15] Made in Bangladesh was listed in criterion collections hidden-gems of the 2010s as "The storytelling in the film is like the lead character—quiet, methodical, and tenacious, reminiscent of the great director Satyajit Ray."

Hossain is currently working on the fourth feature, a Bangladesh-Norway-France-Germany-USA Co production. The Sor fond [16] jury termed Difficult Bride script “an atmospheric and immersive journey, and the jury was fascinated and intrigued by the poetic, yet grotesque, way the filmmaker is planning to visualise the protagonist`s feelings and desires.”

Social work

Hossain has worked for prominent women's rights NGOs in Bangladesh such as Ain O Salish Kendra and Naripokkho. She was also the co-coordinator for the first international workshop on Sexuality and Rights organized by BRAC School of Public Health in 2007. [17] [18]

Filmography

Selected awards/honors

Khona Talkies

Hossain and her partner Ashique Mostafa established Khona Talkies in 2008 with the vision of using young Bangladeshi talent to produce films in a local terrain with possible foreign co-production and creative tie-ups. Since its inception, Khona Talkies has produced a few award-winning and internationally acclaimed as well as locally significant independent films by young filmmakers. [27]

Sultana's Dream

Hossain started Sultana’s Dream, a funding and mentorship grant to empower, promote and support the next generation of women filmmakers and storytellers in Bangladesh, named after a 1902 novel by Begaum Rokeya, a pioneer of women’s education in South Asia. For its pilot run, the program has selected a cohort of 16 emerging women filmmakers who will received basic filmmaking training across disciplines and guidance for preparing project dossiers and pitching, leadership workshops, script-writing modules, study circles encompassing feminist film history, the female gaze and gendered reading of film texts. Production grant and mentorship has been provided to three projects selected by an independent jury. [28]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niki Karimi</span> Iranian actress and filmmaker

Niki Karimi is an Iranian actress and filmmaker. Regarded as "the most prominent figure among the young generations coming after post-Islamic Revolution Iranian Cinema", she has received various accolades, including a Crystal Simorgh, three Hafez Awards, an Iran Cinema Celebration Award, and three Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tareque Masud</span> Bangladeshi film director

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinema of Bangladesh</span> Filmmaking Industry in Bangladesh

The Bengali-language film industry based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, has been significant since the early 1970s. It is better known by the popular term Dhallywood, which is a portmanteau of "Dhaka" and "Hollywood". 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.

The Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) is a worldwide organization of 29 member countries. It was created as the result of a conference on Asian cinema organized by Cinemaya, the Asian Film Quarterly, in New Delhi in 1990 at the instance and with the support of UNESCO, Paris.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ying Liang</span>

Ying Liang is a Chinese independent film director and screenwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artistic depictions of the Bangladesh Liberation War</span>

There have been numerous works of art created as a result of the Bangladesh Liberation War. In 1971, a concert was organized by members of the British rock band, The Beatles, in support of Bangladesh. The songs recorded for and broadcast on Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra are still considered to be the best of Bangladeshi protest songs.

<i>Kantatar</i> 2005 Indian film

Kantatar is a 2005 Bengali film directed by Bappaditya Bandopadhyay, and featuring Sreelekha Mitra, Sudip Mukherjee, Rudranil Ghosh. It received NETPAC Award at Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema, 2007 for its deceptively simple style with which the complex situation of people trapped in a state of permanent displacement is exposed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema</span>

The Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema is an annual special-interest film festival focusing on the cinemas of Asia. The festival is held annually in Vesoul, France. It was created in 1995 by Martine and Jean-Marc Thérouanne who have been codirecting the festival since then.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mostofa Sarwar Farooki</span> Bangladeshi film director, screenwriter and film producer

Mostofa Sarwar Farooki is a Bangladeshi film director, producer and screenwriter. His films Third Person Singular Number, Television, No Bed Of Roses were critically acclaimed across the world and received numerous international and national awards. He founded filmmakers' movement called "Chabial".

<i>Meherjaan</i> Bengali film

Meherjaan is the feature-length début film of Bangladeshi director Rubaiyat Hossain. The film was pulled from theatres due to the hostile response of some segments of the audience after its release in January 2011. Meherjaan claims to be a women's "feminine" re-visiting of the Bangladesh Independence War with Pakistan in 1971, while many feel discomfort with the deconstructive representation of the '71 conflict.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moviyana Film Society</span> Bangladeshi film culture organization

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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Director</span>

National Film Award for Best Director is the highest award for film directors in Bangladesh, presented annually at Bangladesh National Film Awards ceremony by the Ministry of Information. It is given in honour of a film director who has exhibited excellence directing in Bangladeshi cinema. Since 1975, the award is given annually except in 1981, 1998 and 2003. It is presented by the President of Bangladesh at a ceremony held in Dhaka.

<i>Under Construction</i> (film) 2015 Bangladeshi film

Under Construction is a 2015 Bengali narrative feature film written and directed by Rubaiyat Hossain.

<i>Sincerely Yours, Dhaka</i> 2018 film

Sincerely Yours, Dhaka is a 2018 Impress Telefilm drama film produced as Bangladesh's first anthology film directed by eleven individual directors. It is a collection of gritty shorts centered on the capital city of Bangladesh, Dhaka, and the people living in its margins. It was awarded "Best Original Screenplay" at the 11th edition of the Jaipur International Film Festival (JIFF), held in India in January 2019. It is one of the first two films to enter Netflix originating from Bangladesh. It was selected as the Bangladeshi entry for Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards, but it was not nominated. It was also screened at 51st International Film Festival of India in January 2021 in Country in focus section.

<i>Shonibar Bikel</i> 2019 drama film

Shonibar Bikel is a 2019 Bangladeshi-German-Russian co-production film directed by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, a one shot political thriller, inspired from the July 2016 Dhaka attack. The film had its world premiere at the 2019 Moscow International Film Festival. The film was cleared for release in Bangladesh by Bangladesh Film Censor Board after 4 years.

<i>Made in Bangladesh</i> (2019 film) 2019 film

Made in Bangladesh is a 2019 Bangladeshi drama film directed by Rubaiyat Hossain. It premiered in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, following the participation at BFI London Film Festival, Locarno Film Festival and other major festivals. Distributed by Pyramide Films, the film was widely released in France on 4 December 2019 and running for several months following the theatrical release worldwide including USA, Canada, Denmark, Portugal, Germany, China, Mexico, Singapore, Australia, Turkey, Bangladesh and Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">51st International Film Festival of India</span> 2020 Indian film festival

The 51st International Film Festival of India was held from 16 to 24 January 2021 in Goa. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the festival went hybrid, there was physical and virtual screening of 50 films out of 224 films across various categories. Bangladesh was country of focus in the festival with four films of the country included in 'country of focus' section.

Reekita Nondine Shimu is a national award winning Bangladeshi actress, who acted in films of notable filmmakers including Tareque Masud, Rubaiyat Hossain and Aditya Vikram Sengupta. She received Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Actress and the Best Actress Award at Saint-Jean-de-Luz International Film Festival for her lead role in 2019 film Made in Bangladesh.

References

  1. 1 2 ""I make my films with honesty" - Rubaiyat Hossain". The Daily Star. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  2. ↑ Arts & Entertainment Desk (14 November 2023). "Rubaiyat Hossain becomes second female director to win National Film Award". The Daily Star. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  3. ↑ "Hidden gems of the 2010s". The Criterion Collection. 30 December 2019.
  4. ↑ Ramachandran, Naman (12 February 2022). "Bangladesh's Rubaiyat Hossain Sets Berlin Co-Production Market Project 'Difficult Bride,' Women Filmmaker Grant".
  5. ↑ "Personal Biography". Archived from the original on 25 November 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  6. 1 2 "About". Rubaiyat Hossain. 2 May 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  7. ↑ "Bangladeshi war film Meherjaan rekindles old enmities". BBC News. 19 April 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "Rubaiyat Hossain". IMDb.
  9. ↑ "Under Construction". Khona Talkies.
  10. ↑ "Made in Bangladesh".
  11. ↑ "Made in Bangladesh". Toronto International Film Festival.
  12. ↑ "BFI London Film Festival". Archived from the original on 21 October 2020.
  13. ↑ "Locarno 2020".
  14. ↑ "Film on Bangladesh's garment workers spotlights women driving change". Reuters.
  15. ↑ Raihan, Siam (14 December 2019). "Made in Bangladesh hits theatres across Europe". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  16. ↑ "The Difficult Bride". Sorfond. 12 October 2023.
  17. ↑ "About".
  18. ↑ "UNA-NY Screening the Issues".
  19. ↑ "Rubaiyat Hossain makes history as 2nd female director to win National Film Award". Dhaka Tribune. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  20. ↑ "Guimet Museum of Paris honours Rubaiyat Hossain". The Independent. 25 April 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  21. ↑ "The winners of 37TFF's collateral awards". Torino Film Festival. 30 November 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  22. ↑ "The Norwegian Peace Film Award". Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  23. ↑ "ORGANISATION SNIPPETS".
  24. ↑ "Rubaiyat Hossain". IMDb .
  25. ↑ "Made in Bangladesh (Bangladesh)". Best of ADIFF 2019. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  26. ↑ Haÿne, Angélique (23 November 2019). "Palmarès de la 39e édition du Festival International du Film d'Amiens". FIFAM (in French). Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  27. ↑ "Khona Talkies". Khonatalkies.com. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  28. ↑ "Sultana's Dream to produce 3 films by young women". Dhaka Tribune. 18 September 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.