Dhaka Int’l Mobile Film Festival holds workshop for Munda community

The Dhaka International Mobile Film Festival (DIMFF) held a six-day workshop with members of the Munda community in Shyamnagar, Satkhira, from January 23. The programme, attended by 10 participants, focused on climate change and its effects on the Munda community.

The participants talked about topics such as tiger widows, child marriages, culture and language, job crisis, and sufferings as a result of displacements. Through their stories, they displayed the sacrifices the Munda community deals with, how the threat of child marriages overshadows the happiness of their conjugal lives, and the importance of keeping their heritage intact.

The intensive mobile filmmaking workshop, the first of its kind in Shyamnagar, provided the opportunity for participants from the Munda community to understand and appreciate the process of telling their stories with smartphones. Besides that, through this workshop, they gathered basic knowledge of filmmaking, which will help them find their voices on a broader scale. 

At the closing ceremony, held on January 28, each participant showcased their films in front of an audience. The films vividly displayed their everyday lives and struggles. 

University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB)'s Media Studies and Journalism Department Head Dr Jude William Genilo gave a thank you speech, and so did project researcher Angelos Theocharis from Durham University. 

The programme started with a brief introduction to the research project and was followed by screening participants' films. At the event, UP Chairman of Burighoalini Bhobotosh Kumar Mondol, founder of Initiative for Coastal Development Asikuzzaman Asik, and founder of PROGOTI Ashek-e- Elahi were present. 

The "Community Digital Storytelling and Delta Futures in India, Bangladesh and Vietnam" project is organised by Dr Angelos Theocharis and funded by the UKRI GCRF Living Deltas Hub and the Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience (IHRR) at Durham University. The workshops were conducted in collaboration with the DIMFF, ULAB, and People's Research on Grassroots Ownership & Traditional Initiative (PROGOTI). 

From DIMFF, advisor Dr Abdul Kabil Khan and executive advisor Syeda Sadia Mehjabin were the facilitators.  Assistant Professor Abdul Kader and Senior Lecturer Muhammad Aminuzzaman from ULAB were the coordinators of the workshop. From PROGOTI, Ashek-e- Elahi was the local coordinator.