Iqbal Hossain Chowdhury wins Best Emerging Director at Astar Awards for ‘Boli'

Bangladeshi filmmaker has been honoured with the Best Emerging Director award at the Astar Awards for his film "Boli: The Wrestler." Earlier, he had received nominations in two categories—Best Screenwriter and Best Debut Director—for the same project. Just three days after the nominations were announced, the good news arrived on Wednesday (August 27) confirming his win.

Currently in Bangkok to attend the award ceremony, the director expressed his reaction after receiving the honour. "Winning the award for Best Emerging Director, judged by leading film scholars from around the world, is truly joyous. At the same time, it is a little daunting. The challenges ahead will be tougher. Making one film and then stopping will not be enough. An emerging director must keep moving forward. That is the hardest part," he said.

The Astar Awards presented accolades in a total of 14 categories. Best Film went to "Sound of Falling", which had earlier won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, currently in exile, won Best Screenplay for "The Seed of the Sacred Fig", which received the Cannes Jury Special Award last year, as well as nominations at both the Oscars and Golden Globes in the non-English language category.

The newly launched Astar Awards are organised by the International Institute of Film, Science and Arts (IIFSA), a New York-based body comprising leading global researchers, academics, Nobel laureates, and film scholars. Among its fellows are Nobel Prize-winning authors JM Coetzee, Orhan Pamuk, and Kazuo Ishiguro. The award was presented yesterday as an international recognition combining artistic, scientific, and intellectual merit.

"Boli" was produced under the government grant scheme for the 2020–21 fiscal year. The film is produced by Piplu R Khan, with Saiful Azim and Gousul Alam Shaon as co-producers. Actor Nasir Uddin Khan plays the role of an eccentric fisherman living by the sea.