'Through Her Eyes'
Goethe-Institute Bangladesh, in cooperation with the International Film Initiative of Bangladesh (IFIB), launched a new film screening and discussion series "Through Her Eyes - A space to watch and discuss films with women filmmakers of Bangladesh". As part of this initiative, screening of the film 'Under Construction' directed by Rubaiyat Hossain was followed by a lively Q&A session held at Goethe-Institute Bangladesh auditorium.
Dr. Kirsten Hackenbroch, Director, Goethe-Institute Bangladesh, in her opening speech said that, with 'Through Her Eyes' series, Goethe-Institute and IFIB want to promote women filmmakers from Bangladesh, who will screen their films and be available for a Q and A with the audience.
The monthly program shall be a space for young filmmakers, academics and students, film enthusiasts to engage in discussion, to learn about career paths and opportunities and to critically interrogate societal relations. And we, the organizers, want to listen: what kind of support do young film makers need? - and what role can we play in this."
Samia Zaman, President of the International Film Initiative of Bangladesh (IFIB), in her speech mentioned that, the IFIB tries to work with the young filmmakers for capacity building. The series 'Through Her Eyes', created to watch and discuss films made by women filmmakers of Bangladesh, is a part of that process. She hoped that this initiative would encourage the current and future women filmmakers in their creative journey.
In the constantly changing city of Dhaka, Roya, an actress in her early thirties, has to face her first challenge. It has been years since she started playing the same part repeatedly, working for a stage director who now thinks she's getting too old in spite of her young age. She enters a deep introspection about her life, her art, her own desires, and her place in a patriarchal society. Rubaiyat Hossain's film provides the portrait of a woman, whose life is still under construction.
Women have been making films from the beginning of film production history. In Bangladesh, we currently see a number of women filmmakers actively creating and working in all genres of filmmaking. However, it still remains a challenge for a woman to be a director and continue to create a body of work. Worldwide, relatively few women can carve out that opportunity for themselves.
'Through Her Eyes' gives film enthusiasts, film students, academics, film professionals, funding agencies, broadcasters, rights groups and journalists a regular opportunity to watch films by women filmmakers currently working in Bangladesh and to interact with them directly at the end of the screening.
