Filmmaker Juboraj Shamim’s second full-length film, Atal (In Between Living), has received an enthusiastic response at an international film festival in Russia.
The film was screened on Sunday (23 August) in the International Competition section of the 19th International Film Festival East&West: Classics and Avant-Garde in Orenburg, Russia.
Reflecting on the screening, Shamim said the response from the Orenburg audience felt more sincere than what he experienced during the film’s world premiere at the Moscow International Film Festival.
“How do I begin! What words should I put together to properly express what I am feeling? I never imagined ‘Atal’s’ Orenburg premiere would be this extraordinary. I had expected it to be good, though,” the filmmaker wrote in a social media post.
Shamim particularly praised the audience for remaining engaged throughout the screening, despite the film’s unconventional approach and slow pace.
“The audiences here are much more sincere than those in Moscow. Not just Moscow, I can easily distinguish the audience here from those at all the festivals I have experienced. At least, that is what happened with ‘Atal’,” he wrote.
The filmmaker also compared the response to Atal with that of his debut feature, Adim.
According to Shamim, Adim is more communicative and has therefore received stronger audience reactions at festivals.
“‘Adim’ is more communicative with audiences, so I have received a much stronger audience response to ‘Adim’ everywhere,” he wrote.
In contrast, Shamim described Atal as a slow-paced film that deliberately moves away from conventional filmmaking.
He admitted that he had worried viewers might lose interest or leave before the screening ended.
“‘Atal’ is very different from conventional films and is a very slow film. So, from the very beginning, I assumed that by the time the film ended, someone would probably fall asleep, or most people would leave the hall before the end,” he wrote.
He recalled that some viewers did leave during the Moscow screening, but said the experience in Orenburg was markedly different.
“But Orenburg was completely different! Almost everyone watched the entire film with such great interest. Many people took photographs during the screening, and the questions did not stop during the Q&A session after the film,” Shamim wrote.
He concluded his reflection by quoting acclaimed Taiwanese filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang: “Every art has its own time and space, and it finds it exactly.”
Atal is the first full-length production from Shamim’s own production company, Darbar Sharif.
He wrote, directed, produced and edited the film, while Nayeem Tusher plays the lead role and also served as cinematographer.
Ripon Nath handled the sound, Abdullah Rakib worked on colour grading, while Shibu Kumer Shill of Meghdol designed the poster.
The film had its world premiere at the 48th Moscow International Film Festival in April this year, where it was screened in the “Apocalypse Now” section and competed for the NETPAC Award.
