Entertainment Desk :
The Government grant for the 2023-2024 fiscal year has been announced on
Thursday by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. This time, 20 full-fledged films were granted for the fund of total Tk 14 crore. Six short films are approved for a grant of Tk one crore and 20 lakhs.
Amongst 20 full length feature films, 16 films will get Tk 75 lakhs each, while the other 4 films are set to receive Tk 50 lakhs. Out of these four projects, two are children films and the other two are from the documentary section, said a press release.
During the fiscal year of 2023-24, two movies received funding in the Liberation War category. One is ‘Pakistane Bondi Jibon’, directed and produced by Sajedul Islam. The other is ‘Chhowa’, directed and produced by Rakibul Hasan. Both films will receive funding of Tk 75 lakhs each.
The film directors and producers who received funding are N Rashed Chowdhury, Piplu R Khan, director Nargis Akhter, and producer-director Niamul Mukta, along with actor-director-producer Manoj Pramanik.
Two films have received funding from the Children’s Welfare Department. The film ‘Odvut’ is produced by Raied Morshed, with direction by Touquir Islam. For the film ‘Cholonbiler Manik’, the funding has been secured by Niamul Mukta, which will be produced and directed by him. Each of these films will receive a grant of Tk 50 lakhs.
To encourage emerging talents and maintain creativity in the film industry and to uphold Bangladesh’s dignified culture, the government provides funding annually.
To continue this trend, a list of funded films for this year includes 20 feature films and 6 short films, as disclosed in a statement signed by Saiful Islam, the Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
In the documentary film category, ‘No-Mads of the North’ has received a grant of Tk 50 lakhs. It is directed and produced by Piplu R Khan. The other film is ‘Kaler Jatra,’ with funding and direction by Rasel Rana Doza. In the general category, there are 14 films, with each project receiving Tk 75 lakhs each. Mirza Shabnam Ferdousi has received funding for the film ‘Mihin Gatha’ as both director and sponsor. Jahangir Hossain Babar has secured fund for the film ‘Thikana’ as director and producer.
On the other hand, Fazle Hasan Shishir has received funding for the film ‘Suraiya’. The film will be directed by Robiul Alam Robi. Golam Mostafa has received funding for the film ‘Joya’ as both director and producer. Pinky Akhtar got the grant for the film, ‘Lobh’, which will be directed by Sanjoy Samaddar. For the film ‘Shokhi Rongomala,’ N Rashed Chowdhury has secured funding as both director and producer.
In the general category, Sheli Kader’s sponsored film ‘Jaat’ has also received funding.
It will be directed by Nargis Akter. Another film, ‘Moyner Char,’ has Sumon Parvez as the sponsor and AZM Mostafizur Rahman Babu as the director. Additionally, another film titled ‘Kalbela’ has been sponsored and directed by Ibrahim Khalil Mishuk (Mishuk Moni).
In addition to the aforementioned films, there is also Manoj Pramanik’s produced film ‘Sheyana’ with the direction by Iqbal Hasan Khan. Another film titled ‘Ajiron’ will be directed and produced by Gitali Hasan. Furthermore, there is ‘Postmortem’ with Mohammad Nizam Uddin as the producer and Arif Siddiqui as the director.
Another film titled ‘Ha Ghore’ is also in the list, produced by Noor Monir and directed by Nasrullah Mansur.
In the general category, another film is ‘Muktijuddher Chetona,’ produced and directed by Dewan Nazrul.
Apart from these, the government has decided to provide funding to the sponsors of six short films. Among them, two are based on the Liberation War. They are ‘Aporajito ’71,’ with Mayeen Uddin Pathan as the producer and director, and ‘Joldashi,’ directed and produced by Md Abdul Khalek (Khalek Sadman). Both of these films will receive a grant of Tk 20 lakhs.
In the Children’s Welfare Department’s short film category, ‘Dolim Kumar and Talpukur’s Ant’ is receiving a grant of 20,000 takas, sponsored and directed by Samir Ahmed.
Additionally, in the general category of short films, three films have received funding. These are ‘Moutali Pithar Ghran’ by Juairayaha Mou, ‘Phoenix Pakhi’ by S M Kamrul Ahsan, and ‘Abu Ibrahim er Mrittu’ by Mohammad Mamun Sobhani. Each of these three films will receive a grant of Tk 20 lakhs.