Distinguished Bangladeshi filmmaker Abu Shahed Emon’s long-anticipated project, ‘A Foolish Man’, is finally moving toward production after more than a decade, with Taiwan’s Flash Forward Entertainment joining as an international co-production partner, renowned American entertainment magazine Variety says.
The film follows Yakub, who dreams of becoming a policeman but learns that his freedom comes at a deadly cost after accidentally escaping death row during a dictatorship’s collapse. In a lawless nation where justice has vanished, the badge he once revered may become the very reason for his death.
For Abu Shahed Emon, the project is deeply personal. “A Foolish Man is not a film I chose to make; it’s a story that has lived inside me for over a decade,” he said. “What began as a simple tale about a man mocked for his name has evolved into a meditation on legacy, shame, and identity within a broken system.”
The project first gained international attention in 2011 when it received the Asian Cinema Fund for development and was selected for the Asian Project Market, also winning the Göteborg Film Festival Fund. It was later put on hold as Emon focused on his debut feature, Jalal’s Story (2014), the first Bangladeshi film to compete in Busan’s New Currents Competition and Bangladesh’s official Oscar submission in 2016.
A Foolish Man resurfaced in 2016 at India’s Film Bazaar and the Open Doors Lab at the Locarno International Film Festival. Production, however, was delayed due to Abu Shahed Emon’s growing commitments and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since then, Emon has emerged as one of Bangladesh’s leading independent filmmakers. His three major works Jalal’s Story (2014), Sincerely Yours, Dhaka (2018), and No Ground Beneath the Feet (2021) all represented Bangladesh at the Oscars. He also produced the acclaimed web series Mercules (2023).
The story gained renewed relevance following political upheavals in Bangladesh. “In 2024, when the government fell, I saw images that mirrored the world I had imagined years ago empty police stations, civilians maintaining order, chaos and silence in equal measure,” Abu Shahed Emon said. “A Foolish Man is no longer a period drama; it is a contemporary tragedy.”
Veteran producer Patrick Mao Huang of Flash Forward Entertainment, whose films have featured at Cannes, Venice, Berlinale, Toronto, and Busan, discovered the project at the Red Sea International Film Festival in November 2024. “Once I read the script, I immediately understood why this story has endured for so long,” Huang said.
The film “A Foolish Man” will be a joint production by Flash Forward Entertainment, Golpo Rajjo Films, and Batayan Productions, with Abu Shahed Emon and Tahrima Khan representing Bangladesh. Financing is already secured, and the team is now seeking additional partners. This cross-cultural collaboration aims to deliver a unique cinematic experience to a global audience.
