An acclaimed animated feature inspired by Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain’s pioneering feminist text Sultana’s Dream is coming to Bangladeshi cinemas. Titled El Sueño de la Sultana, or Sultana’s Dream in English, the 86 minute Spanish language film will be released at Star Cineplex on January 16.
Begum Rokeya, a trailblazer of Muslim women’s awakening in Bengal, wrote Sultana’s Dream to imagine a society where women rise to claim their rights. The work challenges a deeply patriarchal social structure. Her vision of social transformation and gender equality remains relevant more than a century later.
Drawing inspiration from the revolutionary text, Spanish filmmaker Isabel Herguera has translated the story into an animated cinematic form.
The film had its world premiere at the San Sebastián Film Festival on September 25, 2023. Following the premiere, it screened at several major international festivals. Among them were the European Film Festival, Goa Film Festival, Filmfest Hamburg and Leeds International Film Festival, where it earned critical appreciation.
First published in English in 1905, Sultana’s Dream stands as one of the earliest feminist utopian narratives of the Indian subcontinent. Over time, it has had particular influence in Bengal. Later, in 1922, Begum Rokeya revised and translated the work into Bangla under the title Sultanar Shopno.
In an earlier interview, director Isabel Herguera recalled discovering the book during a visit to Delhi in 2012. At the time, she had taken shelter from heavy rain inside an art gallery. There, she said, the text immediately captivated her imagination and eventually led her to adapt it for the screen.
Meanwhile, El Sueño de la Sultana marks Herguera’s debut feature film. For the project, she co wrote the screenplay with Gianmarco Serra. Additionally, the film incorporates multiple languages, including Bangla, English, Hindi, Italian, Spanish and Basque. As a result, it reflects a distinctly transnational narrative scope.
Alongside its visual storytelling, the film’s soundtrack features a song written by Kolkata based singer songwriter Mousumi Bhowmik. The music was composed by Tajdar Junaid, while Dipanwita Acharya performed the song. Moreover, five production companies from Spain and Germany jointly produced the film.
