Published on 12:00 AM, October 14, 2012

Farooki's Television wins rave reviews


As Mostafa Sarwar Farooki-directed "Television" brought down the curtain on Asia's biggest film festival in Busan, South Korea, in a first for a South Asian filmmaker, the movie has set off a big buzz internationally.
"Our film was a big hit in the Busan festival video library. Every day programmers and media persons from around the world gathered there to watch the film, which is great," Farooki told The Daily Star from Busan.
Farooki, along with actress Nusrat Imrose Tisha and actor Shahir Kazi Huda), were present for the big moment--the gala closing ceremony. They attended a question-answer session after the screening of "Television" late on Saturday night when an estimated 6,000 film lovers were present at the open theatre of Busan Cinema Centre.
A measure of the film drawing rave review from the international media can be had from what "The Hollywood Reporter" wrote about it:
"Mostofa Sarwar Farooki could be the next South Asian filmmaker to break out. Set in a small village and basking in the little details of daily Bengali life- and not even hinging on Muslim/Hindu tension- the film about progress and the bonds of family boasts production values high for the region which should guarantee it a place in several high profile festivals and with any luck limited, targeted release overseas".
It said "Television's theme of generational conflict and the friction between tradition and modernity play out against a refreshingly "normal" view of Bangladesh that doesn't rely on crushing poverty, draconian customs and a post-tsunami wasteland".
The newspaper praised Golam Maola Nabir's "bright, colorful cinematography" and said "geometric compositions that compartmentalise the characters efficiently creates an optimistic and relatable tone that makes the film's comic moments more satiric than if they had been shot in the drab style more recognisable from the region's cinema.”