The long delay in announcing the winners of the National Film Award 2023 remains unresolved, more than 16 months after applications were first invited.
On June 26, 2024, the previous government issued a notice calling for submissions for the awards. However, since then, no announcement has been made regarding when the winners will finally be revealed.
Sources have confirmed that members of the jury board submitted their recommendations in March this year, naming multiple contenders in each of the 27 categories as per the rules. Despite this, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has not provided any further updates.
Several jury members confirmed the matter to The TIMES of Bangladesh. Jury member and film critic Wahed Sujan said, “We formally recommended the names of the awardees in early March. I have no idea why the names have not been announced yet. The year is almost over. It would have been better if the announcement had been made earlier.”
He added that he attended a dinner earlier this month where some jury members, Information Adviser Mahfuz Alam, and the Information Secretary were present.
“Although no specific date was mentioned there, I think the award will be announced soon,” Sujan said.
Another jury member, music director Maqsud Jamil Mintu, explained, “After we submitted the final scores, another committee within the ministry was supposed to finalise and announce the list of awardees. As far as I know, that committee has not met yet.”
Cinematographer and jury member Barkat Hossain Palash also confirmed that all formalities on the jury’s part had been completed. “We cannot say why there is a delay now,” he said.
When asked if bureaucratic complications were responsible, Palash replied, “It would not be right to call it a complication. If that were the case, there would have been other problems. What we’re seeing here is indecision.”
There are reports that the government may announce the 2023 and 2024 awards together, although no official notice has been issued inviting applications for the latter year.
“I’ve also heard talk of awarding two years at once,” Palash said, adding, “but I’ve not been informed of anything officially.”
Saatao and Adim are believed to be among the leading contenders for Best Film in the 2023 National Film Awards.
