Bangladeshi cinema has earned another proud moment on the international stage. Young filmmaker Mahde Hasan’s debut feature film ‘Balur Nagarite’ (translated as ‘Sand City’) has been officially selected for the Proxima Competition at the 59th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic.
This is considered one of Europe’s most respected film festivals, making the achievement a significant milestone for the country’s film industry. The film stars noted actor Mostafa Monwar, while its sound has been designed by Aranyak Prithivi.
To honour this achievement, the Ministry of Cultural Affairs held a special event on Tuesday, where Cultural Affairs Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki welcomed the film’s actor and sound designer with flowers. He termed the selection as ‘a proud moment for our young filmmaker’ and assured that the ministry would sponsor the airfare for one film delegation member to attend the festival in Karlovy Vary.
Adviser Farooki also expressed the government’s continuous commitment to supporting Bangladeshi creative talents in fields like film, music, theatre, photography, and architecture whenever they earn global recognition.
Ahead of its much-anticipated premiere, ‘Balur Nagarite’ has already caught international attention. Bangkok-based international sales company Diversion has acquired global marketing rights for the film, excluding Bangladesh and Switzerland.
The film has been produced by Rubaiyat Hossain and Aadnan Ahmed under the banner of Khona Talkies, with support from Cinema Cocoon. This marks yet another success for Khona Talkies, known for backing bold and thoughtful cinema from Bangladesh.
Earlier, the Ministry of Culture also extended similar support to filmmaker Adnan Al Rajeev, whose film ‘Ali’ made it to the Cannes Film Festival. The ministry sponsored his air travel to Paris, continuing its promise to stand beside internationally recognised talents from the country.
