Bangladeshi filmmaker Masud Hasan Ujjal’s feature film Bonolata Sen has been selected to compete in the International Competition section of the 31st International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), scheduled to take place in Thiruvananthapuram, India, from December 11 to 18.
The film is the only Bangladeshi entry in the category and is among 14 titles chosen from 10 countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America.
The selected films will compete for several honours, including the Golden Crow Pheasant (Suvarna Chakoram) for Best Film and the Silver Crow Pheasant (Rajata Chakoram) for Best Director. The Best Film award carries a prize of 20 lakh rupees, to be divided equally between the director and producer. The Best Director will receive 4 lakh rupees, while the Best Debut Director award comes with 3 lakh rupees. An Audience Prize worth 2 lakh rupees will also be presented.
Bonolata Sen will share the competition lineup with films from several countries, including Indian filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Padayaatra / A Journey on Foot, starring Mammootty, Brazil’s Gugu’s World by Allan Deberton, the Philippine film Silenced Nights by Lawrence Fajardo, Mexico’s I Am Mario and Iran’s Slumber.
Inspired by the poetry and philosophy of Bengali poet Jibanananda Das, Bonolata Sen is a government-grant-backed production. Ujjal has produced the film, with filmmaker Abu Shahed Emon serving as co-producer.
Masuma Rahman Nabila plays the titular character, while Khairul Basar portrays Jibanananda Das. The cast also features Shohel Mondol, Naziba Basher, Priyontee Urbee, Rupanty Akid, Sharif Siraj and Sumaiya Khushi.
Speaking about the selection, Ujjal said he approached the project as a personal, poetic and experimental visual exploration rather than a conventional biographical film or romance.
He described the film's inclusion alongside works by internationally recognised filmmakers as a significant achievement. He also said the festival's emphasis on artistic and socially conscious cinema made the recognition particularly meaningful for contemporary Bangladeshi filmmaking.
Other titles in the International Competition include Mexico's The Silent Virgin by Xavi Sala, China's Embers by Aoqian Sun, Iran's People's Child by Mahmoud Karimi, Ouroboros, a production from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan directed by Tatiana Lyutaeva, and Uruguay's Sweet Violence by Jeremías Segovia.
The Indian entries include Ramalingam Gowtham's Members of the Problematic Family, Sailesh Rethnakumar's Selvi and Leo Thaddeus's The Soul Whisperer.