‘Bonolata Sen’ at Kerala Film Festival

Bangladeshi feature film “Bonolata Sen” has officially been selected for the International Competition section at the 31st edition of the prestigious International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK). The selection was confirmed by the film’s director, Masud Hasan Ujjal, himself. The festival will take place from December 11 to 18 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.

Featuring only 14 selected films from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, IFFK’s main competition section is recognised as one of the toughest and most prestigious showcases in South Asia. This year, the 14 selected films from 10 countries will fiercely compete for the festival’s top honours, including the Golden Crow Pheasant (Suvarna Chakoram) and Silver Crow Pheasant (Rajata Chakoram), with Bonolata Sen standing as the sole representative from Bangladesh.

According to festival authorities, the Best Film in the International Competition will receive the Suvarna Chakoram award along with a cash prize of RS20,00,000 (approximately USD24,000), to be shared equally between the producer and the director of the winning film. In addition, the Best Director will be awarded the Rajata Chakoram and Rs4,00,000 (approximately USD 4,800), the Best Debut Director will receive the Rajata Chakoram and Rs3,00,000 (approximately USD 3,600), and the Audience Prize will honour the director of the best entry voted by festival delegates with the Rajata Chakoram and  Rs2,00,000 (approximately USD 2,400).

In this year's International Competition, Bonolata Sen will compete alongside celebrated auteurs and major international festival winners.

Talking about the international selection, director Masud Hasan Ujjal shared that moving away from conventional biographical narratives or traditional love stories, he crafted “Bonolata Sen” as an intimately personal, poetic, and experimental visual exploration. He added that securing one of the 14 slots in IFFK’s main competition alongside Berlin and Toronto award-winning films and a legend like Adoor Gopalakrishnan is a testament to the film's artistic ambition, and competing on an international stage renowned for championing artistic and socially resonant cinema marks a proud milestone for contemporary Bangladeshi filmmaking.

Inspired by the poetic universe and philosophy of iconic poet Jibanananda Das, the government-grant-funded film is produced by Masud Hasan Ujjal and co-produced by filmmaker Abu Shahed Emon. The film stars Masuma Rahman Nabila in the titular role of Bonolata Sen and Khairul Basar as Jibanananda Das, alongside Shohel Mondol, Naziba Basher, Priyontee Urbee, Rupanty Akid, Sharif Siraj, and Sumaiya Khushi.