As it is a small developing nation, the country still has not produced large scale war films like the multi million dollar World War films of Hollywood or other western nations. Most of the 1971 Liberation War films of the country had a male centric storyline, where the film directed and written by a male director had a male freedom fighter as its lead cast. Yet, there is another star studded Liberation film, “Shilalipi,” directed by renowned screenwriter and Bangladesh’s first female feature film director, Shamim Akhter, which did not get as much attention at local box offices. Shot on 16mm film, this was the second feature length film directed by a female film maker of Bangladesh. Her first feature film was another Liberation War film titled “Itihaas Konna-Daughter of History.”I recently had the pleasure to watch “Shilalipi” and meet its director for a Q&A session at the capital’s Goethe-Institut on Sunday (March 17), and absolutely loved it.

Source: Dhaka Tribune March 20, 2019 15:45 UTC