Bangladesh Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Manori Ravindran International Editor New York’s South Asian International Film Festival has appointed Chayan Sarkar as its new president. A filmmaker, entrepreneur and festival director, Sarkar is also the founder of the Indian International Film Festival of Queensland in Australia. He takes over from SAIFF founder Shilen Amin, who will step down as president, but will remain a member of the festival’s board of directors. Sarkar joins SAIFF as the festival enters its 19th year as a leading film festival in the U.S. for new cinema from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, and within the Indian diaspora. In recent years, SAIFF has become increasingly influential as a platform for South Asian cinema, both in the U.S. and internationally. Fourteen of India’s submissions for the international feature film Oscar have had their North American premieres at the festival.

Naman Ramachandran For the first time in its 37-year history, the SXSW festival in Austin will host South Asian House, an initiative to celebrate South Asians from India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Maldives as well as accomplished members of the diaspora. The initiative, scheduled for the first weekend of SXSW on March 11 and 12, 2023, will feature programming around film and television, dance and music, technology, business, fashion, comedy and climate change from a South Asian world view across plenaries, sessions, panel discussions, workshops, art exhibits, book launches and music concerts. It will take place in the 4th Street neighborhood of downtown Austin, near the Austin Convention Center event headquarters.

Deborah Roberts will expand her role at ABC News, becoming a contributing anchor for 20/20 in addition to her duties as senior national affairs correspondent.

Manori Ravindran International Editor European training program School of Film Advancement (SOFA), which aims to strengthen regional film industries across Europe with a focus on Eastern partnership, has launched its ninth edition and 2022-2023 project selection. The first SOFA workshop, running through Sept. 30, kicked off on Sunday outside the Polish capital of Warsaw. After two virtual years, the program returns with an expanded edition that comprises a line-up of 16 projects and 20 participants, composed of up-and-coming film industry executives, curators and cultural managers from 17 countries including Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Denmark, Bangladesh, Switzerland and Germany.

Naman Ramachandran Leading Bengali-language focused streamer Hoichoi has unveiled a 25-strong Indian and Bangladeshi series slate on the occasion of its fifth anniversary of operations. Stepping into its sixth year, Hoichoi, revealed 21 shows from India and four from Bangladesh at a gala event in Kolkata on Tuesday. Content creators Srijit Mukherji, Dhrubo Banerjee, Anirban Bhattacharya, Sahana Dutta, Syed Ahmed Shawki, Ashfaque Nipun and others continue their journey with Hoichoi, while Raj Chakraborty and Arindam Sil are making their streaming debuts. Hoichoi co-founder Vishnu Mohta said that the streamer’s monthy active users have increased by 40% and its international user base has risen by 30%. Operated by studio SVF Entertainment, Hoichoi was launched in 2017.

Like Meghan Markle, Kate Middleton also wore jewellery that once belonged to the Queen at her funeral on Monday.

The 18thCamden International Film Festival on Maine’s mid-coast – an increasingly important destination for documentary filmmakers – wrapped its in-person portion Sunday after announcing a handful of awards.

Naman Ramachandran Leading Indian AVOD platform MX Player has set a multi-year partnership with Lionsgate to bring premium Hollywood content onto the service. Via this agreement, MX Player consumers in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Maldives will now have access to more than 50 Hollywood blockbuster films dubbed in the Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages in a year. Titles available in September include “Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1,” “Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2,” “War” and “Destruction: Las Vegas.” Mansi Shrivastav, senior VP, content acquisitions and alliances, MX Player, said: “Our partnership with Lionsgate allows us to bring some of the most popular and commercially acclaimed Hollywood films to our viewers in their local languages. This partnership also enables us to attract new users to the platform while consolidating our existing audience base. We are thrilled with this alliance and look forward to working closely with the team at Lionsgate to make more Hollywood content available for users in the region.”

Naman Ramachandran On the occasion of India’s 75th Independence Day on Aug. 15, the first teaser of Bollywood war epic “Pippa” has been revealed and Dec. 2 has been set as the release date.

Naman Ramachandran The Indian government has approved an audiovisual co-production treaty with Australia, designed to promote joint production of films between the two countries.While details are currently scarce, producer contributions from the two countries can vary from 20% to 80% of the final total cost of the jointly produced work.“Australia has emerged as a preferred destination for shooting of Indian films. India is fast emerging as a major content hub for filmmakers looking for new projects.

West Ham will host Manchester City for the Matchday 1 of the 2022/2023 Premier League. Here you will find all the information you need to know about this game, including how to watch it on TV or live stream in your country.

EXCLUSIVE: Fortress star Kelly Greyson has joined the cast of M-9, the Frank Grillo-starring spy action-thriller adapted from the James Bond-influenced Masud Rana novels.

With the price of food soaring all over the world, Qurbani donations are needed more than ever.

Katherine Tulich Lukas Dhont’s “Close,” which won the Grand Prix in Cannes last month, picked up the Sydney Film Prize, the top prize at the Sydney Film Festival, on Sunday evening.Accepting the award via video message Dhont said: “It’s a film that comes from our hearts, that we worked on for a lot of years with many people.”The international jury consisted of Australian actor David Wenham, Australian director Jennifer Peedom, writer-director-producer Mostofa Sarwar Farooki (Bangladesh), Berlin Golden Bear winner Semih Kaplanoglu (Turkey), and the executive director of the Kawakita Memorial Film Institute in Tokyo, Yuka Sakano (Japan). Twelve titles in the official competition included Carla Simon’s “Alcarras”, Hlynur Palmason’s “Godland”, Colm Bairead’s “The Quiet Girl” and Del Kathryn Barton’s “Blaze.” The winner is awarded AUD$60,000 ($41,600).

EXCLUSIVE: Michael Jai White (The Dark Knight), ABM Sumon (Dhoka) and Matt Passmore (Jigsaw) are among cast joining Frank Grillo (Captain America) in Asif Akbar’s spy thriller MR-9, which is now underway.

EXCLUSIVE: Captain America, The Purge and Copshop star Frank Grillo is set to star in action movie MR-9, which is shooting imminently in the U.S. and Bangladesh.

It can be a real pain when you turn up to your hotel room just to find you can't charge your phone, laptop or toothbrush because you forgot to pack the correct plug adapter. To help you avoid this annoyance, we've made a list of every country and the type of plug needed so you won't be caught out again.

Naman Ramachandran Top Bangladeshi actor Nusrat Imrose Tisha is in Cannes to promote her new film “Mujib: The Making of a Nation.” A trailer for the film, a biopic of the late Bangladeshi leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was unveiled at the Cannes Film Market.Popularly known as Bangabandhu (friend of Bengal), Rahman was one of the founders of the Awami League party and led the movement for political autonomy for East Pakistan and the subsequent formation of independent Bangladesh in 1971. He served as the first president and then the first prime minister of Bangladesh until he, his wife and sons were assassinated in an army coup in 1975.

Naman Ramachandran India’s Mithila Palkar (Netflix’s “Little Things”) and Jaaved Jaaferi (“Sooryavanshi”) and Bangladesh’s Siam Ahmed (“Shaan”) have joined the cast of “In the Ring (Story of a Burqa Boxer).”Set in the female Muslim boxing community of Khidderpore, Kolkata, India, the film is a psychological thriller about Shama, a 17-year-old boxer who exchanges places with her double to fight in the national championship when she is framed in her aunt’s murder.The cast also includes Razia Shabnam, one of the first Indian women to become an international boxing referee and coach.The Hindi-language film will be directed by U.S.-based filmmaker Alka Raghuram, who previously directed the acclaimed documentary “Burqa Boxers,” about Muslim women boxers in Kolkata. The project is being produced by Sreyashii Sengupta for Singapore-based Darpan Global and Souvikk Dasgupta for Oriizon Global in India, with Los Angles-based Rick Ambros serving as executive producer.Raghuram said: “I started writing this script while I was filming the documentary ‘Burqa Boxers.’ While the immersion into their world allowed me to tell the documentary story in the style of realism, it also made me want to explore the interior [worlds] of the characters via a more stylized narrative and style.

Naman Ramachandran India’s long awaited location shooting incentive scheme is now a reality. At the Cannes Film Market on Wednesday, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur revealed a 30% reimbursement scheme for international productions shooting in India.The Indian federal government will reimburse up to 30% of qualifying production expenditure to a maximum of INR20 million ($260,000).

EXCLUSIVE: Anonymous Content and CAA have signed Nuhash Humayun, the Bangladeshi writer-director whose horror short Moshari won the Grand Jury Award at SXSW 2022, for representation.

A 10-year-old girl from Oldham is walking 50 kilometres for charity in honour of her late grandad.

Film Independent today announced the names of the 30 filmmakers, from 11 nations, selected to participate in its 2022 Global Media Makers LA Residency, taking place in person this month.

Naman Ramachandran “Mujib: The Making of a Nation,” the biopic of late Bangladeshi leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, is currently in post-production and a teaser will be unveiled at the Cannes Market in May. Popularly known as Bangabandhu (friend of Bengal), Rahman was one of the founders of the Awami League party and led the movement for political autonomy for East Pakistan and the subsequent formation of independent Bangladesh in 1971.

Clive Myrie has spoken about how the Russia-Ukraine war is "on a different scale" to anything he's seen before in his 30 years of reporting. The conflict in the Eastern European country has prompted an outpouring of support and donations from celebrities and even royalty, with Kate Middleton making a rare political statement in support of Ukraine.

Love Island stars have been making major moves since leaving the villa; from Liberty Poole appearing on Dancing On Ice to Millie Court launching her own edit with ASOS. Oh, and we can’t forget Jake Cornish joining the Dreamboys.Now there’s exciting news for Hugo Hammond who has announced that he’s resuming his career a sportsman after joining a new cricket club.Before rising to fame on Love Island, the former PE teacher earned a cap for the England Physical Disability cricket team, playing around the world in likes of Bangladesh and Dubai.

Clive Myrie has received wide praise for his commentary on Ukraine recently, after Russia launched a full-scale invasion on the country on 24 February. The BBC journalist, 57, has been reporting close to where the devastation has occurred in Kyiv, and even away from the cameras he has continued to keep people updated with what is happening in Ukraine on social media. Clive has now managed to safely leave the capital city, confirming his departure on 7 March.

Naman Ramachandran Madhuri Dixit, one of the brightest and most enduring Bollywood stars, is basking in the success of her streaming acting debut, Netflix’s “The Fame Game.”The series bowed Feb. 25 and is among the top 10 Netflix shows in Mauritius, Bahrain, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Sri Lanka and the U.A.E.In the series created by Sri Rao, and directed by Bejoy Nambiar and Karishma Kohli, Dixit plays top Bollywood star Anamika Anand, who at the height of her fame, disappears without a trace.

The Sundance Institute has set Marissa Chibás (72), Walé Oyéjidé, Esq. (Chiaroscuro), Glenn Kaino (Fox & Stork), Mamoudou N’Diaye (Freelancers), Gabby Rivera (Juliet Takes a Breath), Nuhash Hamuyun (Moving Bangladesh), Tania Taiwo (Pharmacopeia), Andre Muir and Jake Hutton (The Predicament), Tommy Pico and Tazbah Rose Chavez (Sometimes), A.K. Espada (This Is Our Home) and Ramzi I. Bashour (Tomahawk Springs) as the participants for its tenth annual, two-day Screenwriters Intensive, taking place virtually through tomorrow.

Naman Ramachandran BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC, has set a content deal with MX Player, India’s largest AVOD service, which also has a strong reach across Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Pakistan. The partnership kicks off with Simon Allen‘s “The Watch,” a series inspired by the characters in Terry Pratchett’s bestselling “Discworld” novels, which follows an unlikely group of misfits, The City Watch, who are forced to find the guts to save the world, surprising even themselves in the process; and “Line of Duty” creator Jed Mercurio‘s “Critical,” set in a major trauma center that only deals with the most serious cases, following an emergency medical team that battles through the vital first hour of care to save lives that hang in balance.

Naman Ramachandran Entrepreneur Karnesh Ssharma is launching Clean OTT, a streaming service focusing on female-oriented original content, in the first quarter of 2023.Female actors, directors and producers will be at the heart of the service, which aims to move away from the male gaze that plagues Indian content and to create a sustainable platform for female professionals to further their career in the entertainment industry, while also removing age barriers.The content will include originally curated and produced works by Clean and pre-selected projects that meet the Clean OTT messaging framework by other producers from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.Ssharma is also a co-founder of Clean Slate Filmz (Netflix’s “Bulbbul,” Amazon’s “Paatal Lok”). The Clean OTT library will feature work from directors, scriptwriters, actors, and producers associated with Clean Slate Filmz, as well as providing opportunities to emerging talent.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe Osaka Asian Film Festival has unveiled its biggest ever program – a total of 76 films – to unspool next month (March 10-20, 2022).Its competition section includes the acclaimed Korean debut film “Aloners,” which offers an exacting critique of the alienating effects upon life of modern capitalist economies; Hong Kong biopic “Anita”; the world premiere of “Angry Son,” which combines LGBT and mixed race themes in a heartwarming comedy; Kong Dashan’s new take on “Journey to the West,” as a ragtag group of people on a UFO hunt; “Mama’s Affair,” the second film by Kearen Pang, whose 2017 debut “29+1” won Osaka’s audience award, “No Land’s Man” from Mostofa Sarwar Farooki and festival circuit hit “Barbarian Invasion.” The spotlight section includes ten titles. Among them are “The Ground Beneath her Feet” from Bangladesh’s Mohammad Rabby Mridha; “A Room of Her own” from China’s Xie Yiran; and Carlo Francisco Manatad’s “Whether the Weather is Fine.”The largest component section is the twenty-title Indie Forum, a platform for Japanese indie films that allow the winner to claim the Japan Cuts Award.

The World Health Organization has released a new report on Omicron sub-variant BA.2 which shows the strain accounted for 21.5% of all new Omicron cases analyzed worldwide in the first week of February. Omicron, in turn, represented nearly all of the variants identified globally (98.3%) in the genomically-sequenced samples submitted to the GISAID data-sharing hub in the previous 30 days.

Naman Ramachandran Acclaimed Bangladeshi director Rubaiyat Hossain, known for her powerful women-centric films, has a new project participating in the Berlinale Co-Production Market and is launching a female filmmaker grant.Her Berlinale co-production market project, “The Difficult Bride,” follows Novera, a bride-to-be in present-day Dhaka who is in love with the groom and the idea of a fairytale wedding, but secretly struggles with her body, which does not seem to comply with the wedding rituals. She makes continuous trips to the beauty salon and uses home remedies to “cure” her body.

Naman Ramachandran Zhang Lu’s “Yanagawa” (China), Hong Sung-eun’s “Aloners” (South Korea) and Fujimoto Akio’s “Along the Sea” (Japan/Vietnam) were among the top award winners at France’s Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas. “Yanagawa,” which opened the 2021 Pingyao Film Festival, won the Golden Cyclo, the festival’s top honor awarded by the international jury.

Naman Ramachandran Go language-specific, go cheap and go hyper-local to reap success appears to be the motto of a range of streamers operating across South Asia.With countries including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan, South Asia is a vast region populated by 1.9 billion people speaking a welter of languages. It is no secret that people in the region prefer consuming content in their own tongues.