Bangladesh has been sending entries to the Oscars’ International Feature Film category for over two decades. This year, the Oscar Bangladesh Committee, formed under the Bangladesh Federation of Film Societies (BFFS), selected ‘Barir Naam Shahana’ to represent the country at the 98th Academy Awards.
The announcement, made yesterday, sparked mixed reactions from filmmakers and producers. Five films were submitted for consideration: ‘Saba’, ‘Barir Naam Shahana’, ‘Nakshi Kanthar Jamin’, ‘Priyo Maloti’ and ‘Moyna’.
Adnan Al Rajeev, producer of Priyo Maloti, and Manjurul Islam Megh, director of Moyna, publicly questioned the selection. Rajib posted on Facebook, “If the goal is to strengthen Bangladesh’s representation at the Oscars, Saba was undoubtedly the stronger choice. The committee’s work does not reflect real objectives.”
Others echoed similar concerns. Filmmaker Abu Shahed Emon argued that Saba, which screened at major festivals including TIFF, Busan and Red Sea, and earned praise from figures like Spike Lee, as well as coverage in Variety, Hollywood Reporter and Screen Daily, would have been a safer and more competitive selection.
Filmmaker and academic Razibul Hossain took the issue further, alleging lobbying and flawed judgment in the selection process. “Bangladesh’s national cinema could have been represented,” he said. “Instead, we face the same mistakes every year, over and over again.”
Megh demanded transparency about the jury. He said, “Were the jurors qualified? Shouldn’t we first analyse how the jury was formed before debating which film was best?”
The selection committee, chaired by Dr. Mohammad Zahirul Islam, included critic Sajjad Sharif, cinematographer Rashed Zaman, producer Shahrin Akhter Sumi, director Shaheen Dil-Riyaz and Professor SM Imran Hossain.
Dr. Zahirul Islam dismissed the allegations of bias. “Have those who raised objections watched all five films?” he asked. “The other four submissions were just as worthy. But since only one film could be finally sent, it was a difficult decision.”
Arifur Rahman, producer of Barir Naam Shahana, refrained from commenting directly on the criticism but noted, “Earlier, there was no debate when only one film was submitted. This time since several films were in contention, the announcement naturally created excitement. I would have been happy with any of the films being chosen, not just ours.”
He added that the jury board was unknown to producers until the press conference, saying, “Once we saw the names, we were confident they would choose the film that truly deserved nomination.”
