Actress Sunerah Binte Kamal attended the Venice International Film Festival for the first time this year. She played a guest role in The Difficult Bride and said her experience at the festival was filled with memorable moments while representing Bangladeshi cinema and culture.
After the long journey, she spent some time inside the airport having drinks and coffee. However, she was surprised when she went to pay the bill.
“I was going to pay the bill after having coffee and some other things. Suddenly, I noticed they were not taking the payment. I understood that they did not want me to pay. I was surprised and wondered why. Later, someone there told me, ‘I know you. I have watched your dramas and films. I am also Bangladeshi. I would be happy if you did not pay this bill.’ They did not take the payment. I was truly overwhelmed by the incident. I felt honoured,” Sunerah said.
The 83rd Venice International Film Festival began on 2 September and will end on 12 September. One of Sunerah’s main reasons for attending was to showcase Bangladesh’s culture alongside its cinema.
She planned all her outfits around that idea, and the designs also attracted attention from international guests.
“We often do not give enough importance to things made in our own country. Yet all my outfits were made in Bangladesh. Many foreigners at the festival praised the designs. They asked where I had them made and could hardly believe they were made in Bangladesh. I had another wonderful experience with my outfit at the party after our premiere. Everyone was amazed by the designs. I could not convince them that the clothes were made in Bangladesh. Their appreciation of Bangladeshi work felt like a great honour to me,” she said.
The Difficult Bride became the first Bangladeshi feature film to enter a competitive section of the Venice International Film Festival. The film premiered on September 6 in the festival’s prestigious Orizzonti section.
Directed by Rubaiyat Hossain, the psychological horror film centres on marriage, make-up and a beauty parlour.
As a young woman prepares for her wedding, she becomes trapped in an unsettling and mysterious world shaped by beauty, the body, belief, memory and fear. The film combines social drama with horror.
Reflecting on the premiere, Sunerah said her screen time in the film was relatively brief, but audiences still remembered her character.
“My presence in the film is for a relatively short time. Yet I saw that many viewers remembered that part. After the premiere, people were calling me by the name of that character. That surprised me quite a lot,” she said.
She also said the premiere created an opportunity for international audiences to discover Bangladeshi cinema.
“I had a wonderful experience after the premiere. Everyone was talking about Bangladeshi cinema. Most of the viewers and critics had not seen our films before. They were asking about Bangladeshi cinema. Many viewers told me, ‘You have made a good film. We want to watch more films from your country,’” she said.
Sunerah also recalled another memorable experience after leaving Venice for Poland.
“I came to Poland after the premiere. When the airport staff learned that I was an actress who had attended Venice, they treated me with great respect. They also changed my seat. These experiences have made my achievements as an actress feel even more meaningful,” she said.
Sunerah will attend the final event related to The Difficult Bride on the festival’s closing day, 12 September, before returning to Bangladesh.
“After receiving so much praise, I feel that our film may win an award. I am waiting to see what happens,” she said.
The film stars Zaineen Karim Chowdhury in the lead role, alongside Azmeri Haque Badhan, Rikita Nandini Shimu, Shatabdi Wadud, Saberi Alam and Mohammad Bari.
