‘Rehana Maryam Noor’ returns from Cannes empty handed

Bangladeshi screenwriter and director Abdullah Mohammad Saad’s second feature film 'Rehana Maryam Noor' was screened in the Un Certain Regard sidebar, a competitive segment of the Cannes film festival, on July 7. It became the first film from Bangladesh to be part of the festival’s official line-up. 

Though the film received a standing ovation from a houseful theatre, it failed to pick up any prizes at the competition.

‘Unclenching the Fists,’ Kira Kovalenko’s Russian drama about a young woman struggling to escape the stifling hold of her family, has claimed the top prize in the Cannes Film Festival’s 2021 Un Certain Regard competition segment.

The winners were announced in a dazzling award-giving ceremony held in the Debussy Theater on Friday (July 16). 

British filmmaker Andrea Arnold, who presented her documentary ‘Cow’ out of competition, led the 2021 jury of this segment. Other jury members included Franco-Algerian director Mounia Meddour, Cesar-winning French actor Elsa Zyblerstein, Argentine filmmakers Daniel Burman and Michael Covino.

The full list of 2021 Un Certain Regard winners are as follows:

Grand Prize

‘Unclenching The Fists,’ Kira Kovalenko

Jury Prize

‘Great Freedom,’ Sebastian Meise

Ensemble Prize

‘Bonne Mere,’ Hafsia Herzi

Prize of Courage

‘La Civil,’ Teodora Ana Mihai

Prize of Originality

‘Lamb,’ Vladimir Johannsson

Special Mention

‘Noche De Fuego (Prayers for the Stolen),’ Tatiana Huezo

'Rehana' is Saad’s second feature after his 2016 ‘Live from Dhaka,’ which picked up the best director award at the Singapore International Film Festival and went on to appear in several European festivals. Like his debut film, it is a character-driven piece, powered by an extraordinarily intense performance from actor and model Azmeri Haque Badhon.

Badhon plays the title character Rehana, a stern, unbending assistant professor in a medical school who struggles to balance her work with the demands of single parenting and looking after an ailing mother and a hopeless brother. The precarious balance soon spins out of control when she stumbles upon one of her students in tears and decides to doggedly pursue the male professor who seemingly assaulted her.

The movie mines the familiar territory of resilient and obstinate women battling injustice in a profoundly sexist environment. But its morally complex protagonist is no easy champion for the feminist cause. Rehana is incorruptible and yet prepared to lie – and hurt those she holds dearest – in her obsessive quest for retribution.

The film was screened on July 7 and 8 at the prestigious festival.

The film’s eight-member crew includes Sound engineer Sayba Talukder, colourist Chinmoy, production designer Uzzal, cinematographer Tuhin, executive producer Babu, co-producer Mohajon, actor Azmeri Haque Badhon and director Abdullah Mohammad Saad have all reached Paris on June 25.

The Bangladesh, Singapore and Qatar co-production stars Azmeri Haque Badhon, Afia Jahin Jaima, Afia Tabassum Borno, Kazi Sami Hossain, Yasir Al Haq, Saberi Alam, Abrodit Chowdhury and others in central characters.

Previously, the late director Tareque Masud’s ‘Matir Moyna’ was screened at the Director's Fortnight, an out of competition segment, of the 55th Cannes film festival.