Mostofa Sarwar Farooki
Encyclopedia
Mostofa Sarwar Farooki was born in (1973) Dhaka
, Bangladesh
. Variety’s Jay Weissberg wrote, “Mostofa Sarwar Farooki is a key exemplar of Bangladeshi new wave cinema movement” .
He is a contemporary Bangladeshi Film director
, screenwriter
and producer
. He has directed a number of video
fiction for television
, ground breaking TV commercials and three full length feature films. His films have been shown in international
film festivals like Rotterdam, Busan, Abu Dhabi etc.
He is a young director in Bangladesh
who has set a new trend in terms of presentation
and direction after the media boom began in Bangladesh in the late 1990s.
His third film Third Person Singular Number
was premiered in Pusan International Film Festival
(2009). It had its European
premier in International Film Festival Rotterdam
, It was also in the official competition 2009 Middle East International Film Festival
(Abu Dhabi). His previous two films, which he considers to be an educational effort, were Bachelor (2003) and Made in Bangladesh (2007).
of Mistakes. My mistakes are my teacher ". As he never studied in Film making or never got the chance to assist any director, he has been learning
by doing himself. He is inspired by Abbas Kiarostami
, Wong Kar-wai
, Hou Hsiao-Hsien
, Robert Bresson
, Andrei Tarkovsky
and some other filmmakers.
He is widely considered to be one of the most brilliant and influential movie maker of contemporary Bangladesh. He, along with his fellow filmmaker from chabial, has created a new genre of Bangladeshi films that are completely different from traditional theatrical melodrama. Stylistically his works have a documentary feel that sometimes takes a poetic look.
- Television (Feature fiction)
- Awarded Asian Cinema Fund 2010 for script development
- Selected project for Pusan promotion plan 2010
outlets.
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
. Variety’s Jay Weissberg wrote, “Mostofa Sarwar Farooki is a key exemplar of Bangladeshi new wave cinema movement” .
He is a contemporary Bangladeshi Film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
. He has directed a number of video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
fiction for television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, ground breaking TV commercials and three full length feature films. His films have been shown in international
International
----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
film festivals like Rotterdam, Busan, Abu Dhabi etc.
He is a young director in Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
who has set a new trend in terms of presentation
Presentation
Presentation is the practice of showing and explaining the content of a topic to an audience or learner. Presentations come in nearly as many forms as there are life situations...
and direction after the media boom began in Bangladesh in the late 1990s.
His third film Third Person Singular Number
Third Person Singular Number
Third Person Singular Number is a Bengali language film directed by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki and written jointly by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki and Anisul Hoque. The film stars actors Mosharraf Karim and Nusrat Imrose Tisha...
was premiered in Pusan International Film Festival
Pusan International Film Festival
Busan International Film Festival , held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan , South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia...
(2009). It had its European
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
premier in International Film Festival Rotterdam
International Film Festival Rotterdam
The International Film Festival Rotterdam is an annual film festival held in various cinemas in Rotterdam, Netherlands held at the end of January. It is approximately comparable in size to other major European festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Locarno...
, It was also in the official competition 2009 Middle East International Film Festival
Middle East International Film Festival
Abu Dhabi Film Festival is an international film festival. Created in 2007, the ceremony is held annually in October in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage , under the patronage of Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of the ADACH...
(Abu Dhabi). His previous two films, which he considers to be an educational effort, were Bachelor (2003) and Made in Bangladesh (2007).
Early life
Farooki is a self made Filmmaker. In an interview, he jokingly told " I am a student of World UniversityUniversity
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
of Mistakes. My mistakes are my teacher ". As he never studied in Film making or never got the chance to assist any director, he has been learning
Learning
Learning is acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.Human learning...
by doing himself. He is inspired by Abbas Kiarostami
Abbas Kiarostami
Abbas Kiarostami is an internationally acclaimed Iranian film director, screenwriter, photographer and film producer. An active filmmaker since 1970, Kiarostami has been involved in over forty films, including shorts and documentaries...
, Wong Kar-wai
Wong Kar-wai
Wong Kar-wai BBS is a Hong Kong Second Wave filmmaker, internationally renowned as an auteur for his visually unique, highly stylized, emotionally resonant work, including Days of Being Wild , Ashes of Time , Chungking Express , Fallen Angels , Happy Together and 2046...
, Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Hou Hsiao-Hsien is an award-winning film director and a leading figure of Taiwan's New Wave cinema movement.-Biography:...
, Robert Bresson
Robert Bresson
-Life and career:Bresson was born at Bromont-Lamothe, Puy-de-Dôme, the son of Marie-Élisabeth and Léon Bresson. Little is known of his early life and the year of his birth, 1901 or 1907, varies depending on the source. He was educated at Lycée Lakanal in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, close to Paris, and...
, Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director, widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers of the 20th century....
and some other filmmakers.
Cinematic Style
Farooki's body of work address such themes as middle class angst, urban youth romance, deception-hypocrisy and frailty of individual, frustration about own culture and conservative Muslim concepts of guilt and redemption.He is widely considered to be one of the most brilliant and influential movie maker of contemporary Bangladesh. He, along with his fellow filmmaker from chabial, has created a new genre of Bangladeshi films that are completely different from traditional theatrical melodrama. Stylistically his works have a documentary feel that sometimes takes a poetic look.
Filmography (as Director)
| Year | Film | Nominations |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Third Person Singular Number Third Person Singular Number Third Person Singular Number is a Bengali language film directed by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki and written jointly by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki and Anisul Hoque. The film stars actors Mosharraf Karim and Nusrat Imrose Tisha... |
Premiered in - Pusan International Film Festival Pusan International Film Festival Busan International Film Festival , held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan , South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia... (2009) Official selection - International Film Festival Rotterdam International Film Festival Rotterdam The International Film Festival Rotterdam is an annual film festival held in various cinemas in Rotterdam, Netherlands held at the end of January. It is approximately comparable in size to other major European festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Locarno... (2010) Official competition - Middle East International Film Festival Middle East International Film Festival Abu Dhabi Film Festival is an international film festival. Created in 2007, the ceremony is held annually in October in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage , under the patronage of Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of the ADACH... (2009) Winner Best Director - Dhaka International Film Festival (2010) Official competition - Tiburon International (2010) Official competition - Festival Cinema Africano,Asia,America,Latina,Milano,Italy (2010) |
| 2007 | Made In Bangladesh | |
| 2003 | Bachelor | - New Jersey Independent South Asian Cine Fest New Jersey Independent South Asian Cine Fest Established in 2007, New Jersey Independent South Asian Cine Fest is based in New Jersey and dedicated to South Asian independent films. The annual festival is produced by the Asian American Film and Theater Project, a 501 tax exempt US based non profit organization committed to the promotion,... - Third Eye IFF Mumbai - Asiaticafilmmediale Rome |
On Going Project
- Television (Feature fiction)
- Awarded Asian Cinema Fund 2010 for script development
- Selected project for Pusan promotion plan 2010
Chabial
Mostofa Sarwar Farooki is also founder of an avant-grade Film makers club called "Chabial" . This young group of filmmakers have revolutionized the concept of Film making in Bangladesh. They have denied the propaganda " not everyone can become a Filmmaker ", " Film making requires a lot of budget " and so on so forth. These group of young Film makers are used to be Farooki's assistant directors. They have been learning the techniques by working with him. And they are primarily crafting the art in Video Fictions thanks to nationwide cable television channels and DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
outlets.