‘Foreigners Only’: Nuhash Humayun reminds us of our colonised roots

A dark comedy, with artistic value and a brilliant satirical take on the social fabric of formerly colonised countries, "Foreigners Only" is yet another masterpiece by Nuhash Humayun.

"Foreigners Only" is the first Bangladeshi content to be released on Hulu. This short film is a part of season 3 of the "Bite Size Halloween" horror-anthological series, covering social issues through a variety of genres.

The short film begins with shots from a Bangladeshi tannery, the manager of which is looking for a rental apartment. Despite having money and fulfilling the other acceptable criterion, he is denied by most tenants, as many them are looking for foreign renters.

"Foreigners Only" proceeds to highlight the concepts around race, in formerly colonised countries like ours. One is forced to take a step back and ponder about the helplessness when revolting against such subtle, yet impactful racism.

With a blend of brilliant cinematographic skill and artistic storytelling, the short film shows how natural and circumstantial, and thus insignificant, skin is. But the social significance of skin colour is aptly shown in the film.

The film is able to show the duality and inequality that defines Dhaka. It hints at the influence of the media in shaping our mindsets. The scenes showing advertisements of skin lightening products portray the colourism that centres our concepts of beauty. However, the grim cinematography, which highlights the elements of gore in the film, has to be its most gripping part.

So believable and raw is the cinematography, that one feels disgusted seeing the scenes involving the tannery and the main character's skin disease. Yet, the gripping storyline engages the audience so much, that one can't help but want to find out what happens next. The suspense built around the drama climaxes with a brilliant ending, challenging our notions around the concept of value judgement.

We witnessed colonisation firsthand. Our wealth has been looted, our dignity tarnished. Nuhash Humayun reminds us of this particular part of our history, and tells us once again that our fascination with white foreigners and the supposed moral and intellectual superiority they possess is extremely unfortunate.

If you're still debating whether you want to watch this particular short-film, then I would highly recommend you give this, and the rest of the season, a watch.