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Shonibar Bikel

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"Saturday Afternoon" redirects here. For the song, see Chuck Wicks.
Shonibar Bikel
Film poster
Directed byMostofa Sarwar Farooki
Written byMostofa Sarwar Farooki
Produced byAbdul Aziz
Mostofa Sarwar Farooki
Starring
CinematographyAziz Zhambakiev
Music byPavel Areen
Production
companies
Release date
  • April 2019 (2019-04) (MIFF)
Running time
83 minutes
CountriesBangladesh
Germany
Russia
LanguagesBengali
English

Shonibar Bikel (lit. 'Saturday afternoon') is a 2019 Bangladeshi-German-Russian co-production film directed by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, a one shot political thriller, inspired from the July 2016 Dhaka attack.[1] The film had its world premiere at the 2019 Moscow International Film Festival. The film was cleared for release in Bangladesh by Bangladesh Film Censor Board after 4 years.[2]

Plot

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On a nice Saturday afternoon during Ramadan, citizens enjoy sleepy day time. Suddenly, a group of terrorists takes over a café in the city holding hostages of employees and customers. The police soon surround the building and demand negotiation and surrenders, the terrorists fortify the café with gas cylinders continuing their unfair tribunal. Foreigners, the disabled, women, businessmen, artists, non-Muslims, and even Muslims with different sect are subject to brutal hostility. The media streaming live news to attract more viewers doesn't care for the safety of the hostages. Each time a hostage is executed one by one, the nightmare of violence is amplified.

Cast

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Release

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Screening

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The film was premiered in 41st Moscow International Film Festival in April 2019.[3] Then it was screened for Sydney Film Festival in June 2019 in Australia.[4] On July, 2019, it was screened for Filmfest München and London Indian Film Festival. It became a nominee for CineCo Pro Award.[5][1] It was screened as official Selection in Busan International Film Festival in October 2019. It was also screened in 2019 Hong Kong Asian Film Festival.[6]

Home media

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The film was digitally premiered in India and Singapore through SonyLIV from 7 July 2023.[7]

Controversy and censorship

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In January 2019, the Film Censor Board of Bangladesh banned the theatrical release of Saturday Afternoon which portrays the July 2016 terrorist attack at the Holey Artisan Bakery as it would "damage the country's reputation".[8] The censor board said that the film could "incite religious fervour in the Muslim-majority nation of 165 million".[8][9] In January, 2021, a group of artists led by Farooki protested by many ways against the decision.[10] In August, 2022, netizens of Bangladesh protested online against the ban.[11] On 26 August 2022, a group of filmmakers and artists demanded clear explanation for ban the film.[12] On 28 August 2022, a television drama directors' organisation named Director's Guild protested against government and demanded censor clearance of the film.[13] On 29 August 2022, Hasan Mahmud, the information minister of the country, expressed the decision to give permission to release the film under the condition that the director should add extra scenes advised by appeal board. He also claimed that the film didn't show the whole fact.[14] In October 2022, Farooki said that some dialogues may be added to the film's ending to get clearance from the Censor Board.[15] On 21 January 2023, it got green signal of the appeal board to release theatrically in the Bangladesh market.[16]

Reception

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Critical response

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Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter said about the film, "As in most films that attempt to do everything in a one-shot single take, viewers soon forget technique in the heat of the evolving story. It doesn’t seem to faze either the professional cast or cinematographer Aziz Zhambakiyev (Harmony Lessons), as Valerii Petrov’s Steadicam goes flying around the airy restaurant with its picture windows onto a police stakeout and walls that seem to change color from blue to red to heighten the drama".[17] Calling it a modernised version of The Petrified Forest, Wally Adams of Easternkicks.com praised performance of its actors.[18]

Accolades

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List of awards and nominations
Organization Year Category Recipients & nominees Result Ref.(s)
Moscow International Film Festival 2019 Kommersant Prize Won [5]
Russian Federation of Film Critics Jury Prize Won
Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema 2020 NETPAC Award Won [19]
High School Jury Award Won
Fukuoka International Film Festival Kumamoto City Award Won [20]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Farooki's 'Shonibar Bikel' selected for Sydney Film Festival 2019". Dhaka Tribune. 10 May 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-05-21. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  2. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (January 22, 2023). "Mostofa Sarwar Farooki's 'Saturday Afternoon' Cleared for Release After Four Year Struggle With Bangladesh Censors (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  3. ^ "'Shonibar Bikel' stars at Moscow film fest". Dhaka Tribune. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  4. ^ "'Shonibar Bikel' participates in Sydney Film Festival". New Age. 9 June 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Parambrata's 'Shonibar Bikel' screened in London and Munich". The Times of India. 8 July 2019. Archived from the original on 19 July 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  6. ^ "Shonibar Bikel in Busan, Hong Kong film festival". Bangladeshpost.net. 7 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  7. ^ Ramcharan, Naman (30 June 2023). "Mostofa Sarwar Farooki's 'Saturday Afternoon,' Bangladesh Oscar Entry 'Hawa' Set SonyLIV Debut (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Shonibar Bikel, a film based on Gulshan cafe attack, banned". The Daily Star. 18 January 2019. Archived from the original on 9 July 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  9. ^ "Parambrata's 'Shonibar Bikel' stuck in Bangladesh Censor Board". The Times of India. 29 January 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  10. ^ "'Shonibar Bikel' stuck in censor board, artists rally behind Farooki". Dhaka Tribune. 5 January 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  11. ^ Polok, Monorom (21 August 2022). "Shonibar Bikel: Yet another captive of the "image" protector". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  12. ^ "Bangladesh filmmakers, artists demand freedom in storytelling". Bdnews24.com. 26 August 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  13. ^ "Director's Guild wants censor clearance of movie 'Shonibar Bikel (Saturday Afternoon)'". Htsyndication.com. 31 August 2022.
  14. ^ ""Shonibar Bikel" to be released under conditon". Kaler Kantho. 30 August 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  15. ^ "ফারুকীর সিনেমা নিয়ে সুখবর" [Good news about Farooki's movie]. Bangladesh Pratidin (in Bengali). 12 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  16. ^ "Shonibar Bikel finally gets the censor's nod". The Business Standard. 2023-01-21. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  17. ^ Young, Deborah (10 May 2019). "'Saturday Afternoon' ('Shonibar Bikel'): Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  18. ^ Adamas, Wally (17 February 2020). "Saturday Afternoon". Easternkicks.com. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  19. ^ "Farooki's "Shonibar Bikel" bags jury awards at Vesoul Film Festival". Tbsnews.net. 21 February 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  20. ^ "Farooki's 'Shonibar Bikel' wins award at Fukuoka Film Fest". Daily Sun. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
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