Oggatanama selected for 89th Oscars

A still from Oggatonama.

Director Tauquir Ahmed’s Oggatanama has been selected as Bangladesh’s official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category of 89th Academy Awards, popularly known as Oscars.
The decision was announced at a press conference at Hotel La Vinci in the capital on Monday.
Habibur Rahman Khan, filmmaker and chairman of the nine-member Oscars Bangladesh Committee, made the announcement on behalf of the Federation of Bangladesh Film Societies, which selects Bangladesh’s entries for Oscars.
Among others, Bangladesh Film Directors’ Association president Delwar Jahan Jhantu, Editors’ Guild president Abu Musa Debu and writer-filmmaker Shamima Akhter were present on the occasion.
The 89th Academy Awards will take place on February 26, 2017 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles.
Oggatanama, produced by Impress Telefilm, emerged as the winner after competing with three other films – Meher Afroz Shaon’s Krishnapakkha, Suman Dhar’s Darpan Bisarjan and Rubayat Hossain’s Under Construction.
‘Since 2002, we have been sending films for a nomination at the Best Foreign Language Film category. Unfortunately, none of our films have yet been nominated,’ said Habibur Rahman Khan, hoping that Oggatanama might finally bring the coveted result.
‘The most important thing is that we are getting films to represent Bangladesh at the Oscars. We just hope that someday our films will be nominated and will win awards, too,’ said Faridur Reza Sagor, the producer of Oggatanama.
Oggatanama deals with a host of social issues but mostly it focuses on the conditions of expat workers.
The story revolves around an unidentified dead body sent to Bangladesh mistakenly, which comes to represent the sufferings of the ill-fated expatriates.
It features an ensemble cast including Fazlur Rahman Babu, Shahiduzzaman Selim, Mosharraf Karim, Shahed Ali, Shatabdi Wadud, and Nipun.
Released on August 19, Oggatanama has earned praise from the audience and critics. The film has also been screened at a number of international festivals and bagged a few awards.
Bangladesh has been sending films to Oscars since 2002.
Films in other countries are generally sent to Oscars by their respective governments but, in Bangladesh, entries for Oscars are selected by the private organisation Federation of Bangladesh Film Societies.