IDFA 2012
Are You Listening!
Shunte Ki Pao
Kamar Ahmad Simon
Bangladesh
2012
90 min
n.a.
Bangladesh is densely populated, and the country's long, erratic coastline and wide river delta mean it is faced with devastating floods almost every year. Predictions suggest that climate change is only going to make the situation worse. So the population can do little else than learn to live with this apparent fact of life, and keep on rebuilding everything that is destroyed by the wind and water. In his observational and beautifully shot documentary, Kamar Ahmad zooms in on how these problems affect the daily lives of a young family. Filming from an unusually low camera angle, he almost physically drags the viewer into a community that has been waiting for the last two years for the Bengali government to help since their homes disappeared under a thick layer of mud. Rakhi and her husband Soumen's daily existence perfectly represents this impasse. Rakhi's son Rahul was only four when a powerful tidal wave destroyed everything they owned in 2009. Soumen has had no work since, and this puts huge pressure on the family. Rahki contemplates her child's future, wondering aloud whether it will be in Bangladesh.
Credits
Screening copy
Beginning Production Ltd
Beginning Production Ltd
Distribution Benelux
IDFA Bertha Fund
IDFA Bertha Fund
World Sales
CAT&Docs
CAT&Docs
Production
Cinematography
Screenplay