ANNiE bags Geneva International Film Festival award

Bangladeshi miniseries ANNiE, starring Nazifa Tushi and directed by Abdullah Mohammad Saad, has won the Future Is Sensible Award at the 32nd Geneva International Film Festival (GIFF) in Switzerland.

Tushi announced the achievement in a Facebook post, expressing her happiness at the international recognition. She said the festival’s Future Is Sensible section holds particular significance for her because it recognises stories that go beyond entertainment, explore human values, raise questions and encourage audiences to reflect on the world and its future.

Reflecting on her experience of playing the titular character, Tushi described Annie as more than a role, saying the process of understanding the character’s silences, emotions, vulnerabilities and strengths had changed her in ways she was still discovering.

“Becoming Annie was a journey I don’t quite know how to put into words. Somewhere along the way, I stopped thinking of her as a character I was playing and started feeling her as someone I was getting to know. I had to find her silences, her emotions, her vulnerabilities and her strength. There were days when I had to leave a little of myself behind to understand her, and days when I discovered something new about myself through her. She changed me in ways I am still discovering,” she wrote.

The actress thanked jury members Simon Husslein, Fabien Gaffez and Reem Morsi for the recognition. She also expressed gratitude to director Saad for entrusting her with the character, as well as producer Faridur Reza Sagar, iScreen, Channel i and the series’ cast and crew.

“Some characters never really leave you. Annie, I think you will stay with me for a long, long time,” she added.

The miniseries also stars Yash Rohan, Symon Sadik, Sarika Subrin, Farhana Mithu and Nazah.