Are You Listening! Explained

Are You Listening!
Native Name:শুনতে কি পাও!
Director:Kamar Ahmad Simon
Producer:Sara Afreen
Editing:Saikat Sekhareswar Ray
Runtime:90 minutes
Country:Bangladesh
Language:Bangla
Distributor:Journeyman Pictures[1]

Are You Listening! (Original title in Bengali: শুনতে কি পাও!), is a Bangladeshi fiction-non-fiction film written-directed by Kamar Ahmad Simon and produced by Sara Afreen. The "OPENING FILM" of Open Doors Screening at LOCARNO Film Festival, 'Are You Listening!' has been invited to more than 40 International Festivals including "OFFICIAL SELECTION" of 25th IDFA,[2] the largest documentary festival of the world and "OPENING FILM" of 55th Dok Leipzig,[3] the oldest documentary festival. It was also exhibited on special occasions of Conference of Youth (COY) in Paris, Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI) London,[4] Cinema Louxor in Paris, Stadkino Basel in Switzerland and many more.

In a rare move as a fiction-non-fiction, it was released in theatre in Bangladesh on 21 February 2014[5] in Bashundhara Star Cineplex and successfully ran for four weeks. In 2015, the film was awarded with Bangladesh National Film Award as the Best Feature (Non-fiction) handed over by Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of People's Republic of Bangladesh. Written, directed and also filmed by Kamar over a span of 20 months living in a remote coastal village (Sundarbans) of Bangladesh, it is an observational cinema inspired in cinéma vérité or direct cinema style, a genre almost missing until now in Bangladesh.

Development

In December 2009, director Kamar Ahmad Simon started traveling the coastal areas of Bangladesh, approximately 200-kilometer stretch from Bhola to Shatkhira on local boat in three months span on and off, completely unplanned. Before his journey, a tidal surge swept away the coasts of Bangladesh. On these trips he made several stops on different locations and engaged with local debates for hours on tea-chats. On coming back to Dhaka, Kamar extracted out of these informal-chats forming a script based on these very characters and locations that led him go back to them again and again. Later in this phase, for script development and production, the film won two competitive Grant Awards from Jan Vrijman Fund in 2010.[6] Kamar also participated in the IDFA Academy Summer School in August same year to develop the idea further,[7] and in 2011 the film idea was awarded as the Best Pitch in Asian Forum for Documentary held in Kolkata.[8]

Production

Initially the film crew was mostly formed of young film enthusiasts due to financing constraints, and the nature of montage the director envisioned. The location was an added challenge since it had no access to basic utilities such as water, electricity or food and the production was executed in a guerrilla warfare style. Sometimes the shooting was planned for a week but wrapped in three days, and sometimes the schedule extended even for three weeks without any pre-planning.

The director was obsessed with his own vision of making the film, and eventually failed to hold-up the team of the young enthusiasts. But the director's adamancy paid off when locals kind of understood the director more than his team, and almost the entire village stood up lending a hand in any way they could support the production. Volunteers from the village were then groomed to assist in the production handling the logistics. The production continued for 20 months with a series of tours made in every other week or month.In between the shooting, the director attempted to contact editors to have an understanding of the film coming up. But the traditional editors from local industry paid less interest due to lack of understanding of Cinema Verite style. Later Kamar came across Saikat Sekharswar Ray, an editor based in Kolkata and a faculty of Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute and was very impressed with his work. Saikat liked the rush but agreed to edit given that he will work with the entire 170 hours of rush, something that Kamar failed to make the local Bangladeshi editors agree.

The editing was scheduled to start in August 2011, but was halted abruptly with a tragic road accident when Tareque Masud (1956–2011), the finest of filmmakers that Bangladesh has produced till date (The Clay Bird, Cannes 2002, Director's Fortnight, FIEPRESCI Award, Best Film),[9] was killed. Tareque was Kamar's mentor and had a great influence on his film-philosophy. The editing started again in February 2012 when it was invited along with eight other projects in Editing Lab of Berlin Talent Campus, Berlinale 2012.[10] Yet the post-production greatly suffered due to funding crisis until again it won the competitive Grant Award from Visions Sud Est, Switzerland for post-production in 2012.[11]

Crew

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 55th DOK Leipzig in Germany as the ‘Curtain-Opener’ of the festival on 29 October 2012.[12] In a rare move as a documentary, it was released in Bangladesh on 21 February 2014[5] in Bashundhara Star Cineplex and successfully ran for four weeks. Before that Muktir Gaan by Tareque Masud was the only documentary that was released in theater in Bangladesh after one decade of its making and ran a week.

Reception

The Director of the European Documentary Network (EDN) and Danish film critic Tue Steen Müller wrote about the film in his blog,

A classic humanistic, cinematically brilliant work…brings back memories of the Apu-trilogy of Satyajit Ray.[13]

The 25th International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) introduced the film as,

A gorgeously shot observational documentary… filming from an unusually low camera angle…[14]

The Jury awarding the ‘Grand Prix’ in the main international competition section of 35th Cinéma du Réel in Paris[15] cited,

With patience and intelligence in a hostile environment Kamar knew how to stay at the good distance of the people...he filmed to build a humanist movie...in the tradition of the feature-length documentary narratives 'Are You Listening!' is a visual symphony and an ode to life.[16]

Dubai based film programmer and critic Özge Calafato wrote in the 2013 spring edition of European documentary magazine, the quarterly DOX,

Strong political content with a distinct artistic vision…doesn't want to be confined to any strict interpretation of the genre.[17]

One of the most popular Bengali newspaper Prothom Alo, with the largest Bangladeshi readership, published the news of winning ‘Grand Prix’ in 35th Cinéma du Réel 2013 in Paris in highlighted box in back page as a national achievement news.[18]

Also, the 15th years anniversary special publication, a coffee table book on Bangladesh's achievement of 15 years between 1998 and 2013’, Prothom Alo mentioned two films – ‘Shunte Ki Pao!’ (Are You Listening!)[19] and Matir Moina (The Clay Bird) by Kamar's mentor Tareque Masud.[20]

Reviews

Awards and accolades

  1. Best Feature for Best Feature-Length Non-fiction, Bangladesh National Film Award 2013
  2. Golden Conch for Best Feature-Length Documentary, Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) 2014, India[21]
  3. Best Cinematography, Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) 2014, India[21]
  4. Audience Choice Award, Seattle South Asian Film Festival (SSAFF) 2014, Seattle, USA[22]
  5. Grand Prix for Best Feature-Length Documentary, 35th Cinéma du Réel 2013, France
  6. Jury Award, Film South Asia 2013, Nepal[23]
  7. Opening Night Film, 55th Dok-Leipzig, Germany 2012[24]
  8. Grant Award: Distribution, Movies That Matter 2013, Netherlands[25]
  9. Editing Lab Project, Campus Studio/ Berlinale 2012, Germany[26]
  10. Grant Award: Post-production, Visions Sud Est 2011, Switzerland[27]
  11. Best Pitch, DocedgeKolkata, Asian Forum for Documentary 2011, India[28]
  12. Grant Award: Script, Jan Vrijman Fund (JVF/ IDFA) 2010, Netherlands[29]
  13. Grant Award: Production, Jan Vrijman Fund (JVF/ IDFA) 2010, Netherlands[29]

Screening

Are You Listening!' has been invited to more than 40 International Festivals including "OFFICIAL SELECTION" of 25th IDFA, the largest documentary festival of the world and "OPENING FILM" of 55th Dok Leipzig. It was also exhibited on special occasions of Conference of Youth (COY) in Paris, Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI) London, Cinema Louxor in Paris, Stadkino Basel in Switzerland and many more.

FestivalCategoryResult
55th DOK Leipzig 2012, Germany[30] Opening Film & International Competition
25th IDFA 2012, NetherlandsOfficial Selection: Panorama
35th Cinéma du Reel, Paris 2013, France[31] International CompetitionGrand Prix
Adana Golden Boll Film Festival 2013, Turkey[32] Official Selection
Antenna Documentary Film Festival, Sydney 2013, Australia[33] International Competition
DOK.fest München 2013, Germany[34] International Competition
Erasmus Huis International Documentary Film Festival 2013, Indonesia[35] Official Selection
Film South Asia Kathmandu 2013, Nepal[36] International CompetitionJury Award
Globale Film Festival Berlin 2013, Germany[37] Official Selection
Documentary Film Festival 2013, Belgium[38] International Competition
Patmos International Film Festival 2013, Greece[39] Official Selection
PriFilmFest, 2013, Kosovo[40] Official Selection
Schlosstheater Moers 2013, Germany[41] Official Selection
Take One Action Film Festival 2013, UK[42] Official Selection
Yamagata Documentary Film Festival 2013, Japan[43] New Asian Currents Competition
Zagreb Human Rights Film Festival,2013, Croatia[44] Official Selection
Abu Dhabi International Documentary Film Festival 2013, Abu Dhabi[45] International Competition
Festival de Films Documentaries de Lasalle 2013, France[46] Official Selection
Asiatica Film Mediale 2013, Italy[47] Official Selection
Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) 2014, India[48] International CompetitionGolden Conch for Best Documentary
Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) 2014, IndiaInternational CompetitionBest Cinematography Award
Dok Leipzig Lake Festival 2014, IndiaOfficial Selection
NALSAR Film Festival, India[49] Official Selection
Blede Festival 2014, Slovenia[50] International Competition
Stronger than Fiction Documentary Film Festival 2014, Australia[51] Official Selection
Kerala International Documentary & Short Film Festival 2014, India[52] Official Selection
Climatefilmfestival: To Future with Love, Stockholm, Sweden[53] Official Selection
Chicago South Asian Film Festival 2014, Chicago, USA[54] Official Selection
Seattle South Asian Film Festival 2014, Seattle, USA[55] International CompetitionAudience Choice Award
Bangladesh National Film Award 2013[56] National CompetitionBest Feature (Non-fiction)
SemaineIndienne à l'ENS 2014, France[57] Official Selection
Festival de l'Oh 2015, FranceOfficial Selection
Festival International Jean Rouch 2015, France[58] Official Selection
Images mouvementées 2015, France[59] Official Selection
La Lanterne Magique 2015, FranceOfficial Selection
Filmhaus Nürnberg 2015, Germany[60] Official Selection
Open Doors Screening, Locarno Film Festival 2016, Switzerland[61] Official Selection

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Home . journeyman.tv.
  2. Web site: Documentaries | IDFA.
  3. Web site: Are You listening! · DOK Leipzig .
  4. Web site: ARE YOU LISTENING! + Dir. Q&A | DocHouse.
  5. News: bn:২১ ফেব্রুয়ারি মুক্তি পাবে ‘শুনতে কি পাও’ . http://www.prothom-alo.com/entertainment/article/122713/%E0%A7%A8%E0%A7%A7_%E0%A6%AB%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%AC%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BF_%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%BF_%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%AC%E0%A7%87_ . Prothom Alo . 14 January 2014 . bn . 14 January 2014 . 3 March 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140303204436/http://www.prothom-alo.com/entertainment/article/122713/%E0%A7%A8%E0%A7%A7_%E0%A6%AB%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%AC%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BF_%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%BF_%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%AC%E0%A7%87_ . dead .
  6. Web site: Are You Listening. IDFA. 16 November 2012.
  7. Web site: IDFA Academy Summer School 2010. IDFA. 15 September 2010.
  8. Web site: 'EDN Member of the Month Sara Afreen'. European Documentary Network. 22 April 2013.
  9. [2002 Cannes Film Festival#Awards|Awards list of Cannes 2002]
  10. Web site: Berlinale Talents. 26 December 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20140202144129/http://www.berlinale-talents.de/campus/project/profile/95756. 2 February 2014. dead.
  11. Web site: Visions Sud Est/Are You Listening!. Visions Sud Est. 26 December 2013.
  12. Web site: Dok Leipzig opens tonight. 11 July 2023 .
  13. Web site: Müller. Tue Steen. DOK Leipzig Films/1. FILMKOMMENTAREN.DK. 1 November 2012.
  14. Web site: Are You Listening!. IDFA. 16 November 2011.
  15. Web site: 35th Cinema du reel 2013 Award list. Cinema du reel. 3 February 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20150923203542/http://www.cinemadureel.org/en/festival-2013/awards-of-the-35th-cinema-du-reel. 23 September 2015. dead.
  16. News: 'Shunte Ki Pao!' declared Best Film at Cinema du Reel'. 1 April 2013. The Daily Star. 1 April 2013.
  17. Calafato. Özge. The intricacies of the human condition. Dox. 2013. 97. 13.
  18. News: Kader. Monzur. 'প্যারিসে গ্রাঁপ্রি জিতল 'শুনতে কি পাও'. 1 April 2013. প্রথম আলো. 1 April 2013. 3 March 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170303052640/http://archive.prothom-alo.com/detail/date/2013-04-01/news/341339. dead.
  19. Book: 15 Years: Bangladesh Prothom Alo. 2013. Prothoma Prokashon. Bangladesh. 9789849025580. 54–55.
  20. Book: 15 Years: Bangladesh Prothom Alo. 2013. Prothoma Prokashon. Bangladesh. 9789849025580. 23.
  21. Web site: MIFF'2014 Award Winning Films.
  22. Web site: SSAFF'2014 complete list of winners. IMDb.
  23. Web site: The QFX Jury Award, Film Southasia.
  24. Web site: Dok Leipzig opens tonight. DOK Leipzig web archive. 26 December 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20140201121646/http://www.dok-leipzig.de/dok/webarchiv/archiv-2012/festival/festival-news-12?start:int=19. 1 February 2014. dead.
  25. Web site: Movies that Matters, Supported Projects 2013.
  26. Web site: 'Shunte Ki Pao!' in Berlinale Campus.
  27. Web site: Visions Sud Est Post-Production.
  28. Web site: 'We Are Listening!' with Upashana Salam. 8 November 2013.
  29. Web site: IDFA Bertha Fund 201.
  30. Web site: Webarchiv. DOK Leipzig. 14 February 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131027073052/http://www.dok-leipzig.de/dok/webarchiv/archiv-2012/festival/highlights-2012/mittwoch-31.10.2012. 27 October 2013. dead.
  31. Web site: International festival. Cinéma du Réel. 4 July 2013.
  32. Web site: Desert of the real world documentaries. Altinkoza Film Festival. 27 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130924113449/http://www.altinkozafestivali.org.tr/index.php/en/screening-program1/desert-of-the-real-world-documentaries. 24 September 2013. dead.
  33. Web site: Are You Listening!. Antenna Documentary Festival. 27 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20140202185153/http://antennafestival.org/films/are-you-listening/#.Ur2AgvQW0w_. 2 February 2014. dead.
  34. Web site: 29. Internationales Dokumentarfilmfestival München. Dok.fest. 20 May 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130504134548/http://www.dokfest-muenchen.de/filme.php?films_festival=11. 4 May 2013. dead.
  35. Web site: Film International. Erasmusindocs. https://web.archive.org/web/20140202114347/http://www.erasmusindocs.com/index.php/en/festival/film-internasional.html?start=18. 2 February 2014. dead.
  36. Web site: FSA 2013 selections. Film SouthAsia. 8 October 2013.
  37. Web site: Globale films 2013. Globale. 24 July 2013.
  38. Web site: International Competition. Millenium International Documentary Film Festival. 3 April 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20140202164829/http://festivalmillenium.org/en/comp. 2 February 2014. dead.
  39. Web site: Are You Listening!. International Film Festival of Patmos.
  40. Web site: Lineup of fifth edition of Prifest. Prifest. 15 December 2013.
  41. Web site: Are You Listening!. Schloss Theater-Moers. 15 December 2013.
  42. Web site: Are You Listening!. Take One Action Film Festival. 15 December 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20140203141301/http://www.takeoneaction.org.uk/calendar/details/925/. 3 February 2014. dead.
  43. Web site: New Asian Currents. Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival. 12 October 2013.
  44. Web site: HRFF 2013: Lineup. 11.Human Rights Film Festival. 15 December 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20140201144959/http://humanrightsfestival.org/en/2013/11/objavljena-filmska-selekcija-11-hrff-a/. 1 February 2014. dead.
  45. Web site: Feature Films Competition. Abu Dhabi International Environmental Film Festival. 15 December 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20140201160747/http://www.adieff.com/feature-films-competition/?lang=en&lang=en. 1 February 2014. dead.
  46. Web site: Films participating in the 13th Edition. Festival De Lasalle.
  47. Web site: Programma 2013. Asiatic Film Mediale. 9 October 2013. 15 December 2013.
  48. Web site: MIFF'2014 Award Winning Films. Mumbai International Film Festival, (MIFF) 2014. 12 February 2014.
  49. Web site: NALSAR Film Festival 2014. 25 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20140808103013/http://www.nalsarfilmfestival.com/. 8 August 2014. dead.
  50. Web site: Bled Film Festival 2014.
  51. Web site: Stronger than Fiction Documentary Film Festival 2014.
  52. News: IFFK 2014. The Hindu. 17 July 2014 .
  53. Web site: Klimatsatsning med filmpremiär.
  54. Web site: Chicago South Asian Film Festival 2014.
  55. Web site: SSAFF'2014 complete list of winners. Seattle South Asian Film Festival.
  56. Web site: 5 April 2015 . PM distributes National Film Award. The Daily Star. 6 September 2020.
  57. Web site: Programme de la semaine indienne 2014 à l'E.N.S de Paris du 15 au 20 Septembre 2014. www.indeenfrance.com. 20 October 2016.
  58. Web site: Comité du Film Ethnographique – Festival Jean Rouch. Comité du Film Ethnographique – Festival Jean Rouch. fr-FR. 20 October 2016.
  59. News: Projections. Images mouvementées. fr-FR. 20 October 2016.
  60. Web site: Programm. Kunstkulturquartier Nürnberg. de-DE. 20 October 2016.
  61. Web site: Open Doors. www.pardolive.ch. 20 October 2016.