A feature-length documentary on Ekushey Padak-winning Bangladeshi portrait photographer Nasir Ali Mamun is set for its UK premiere at the 28th UK Asian Film Festival.
Titled ‘Mamun: In Praise of Shadows’, the film is directed by British-Bangladeshi filmmaker Makbul Chowdhury and will be screened on May 3 at The Garden Cinema in Covent Garden, London.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with the director, moderated by Anita Horem.
Nasir Ali Mamun is widely regarded as a pioneering figure in Bangladeshi portrait photography, having helped establish the genre in the 1970s. Over a career spanning more than five decades, he has photographed around a thousand poets, writers, artistes and political figures, building a significant visual archive of cultural history.
The documentary, developed over five years, traces Mamun’s artistic journey across Dhaka, Kolkata, Paris and New York. It explores his creative process alongside his interactions with leading cultural personalities.
This year’s UK Asian Film Festival, themed ‘Stories That Bind Us’, highlights narratives that connect communities across cultures and generations.
Festival organisers describe the documentary as an intimate study of Mamun’s artistic philosophy, using a blend of photography and film to reflect themes of identity, memory and lived experience.
