For the first time ever, a Bangladeshi film, Rehana Maryam Noor, has been selected in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival. Directed by Abdullah Mohammad Saad, the film is based on the story of a woman who fights sexism in her own way.
The protagonist, Rehana Maryam Noor, a 37-year-old widow, teaches at a local medical college in Bangladesh. She shoulders the responsibility of her six-year-old daughter, an unemployed brother and elderly parents. Rehana finds out that a male teacher had sexually assaulted a female student. But when the student decides against reporting the incident, Rehana decides to pose as the victim herself in order to punish the culprit.
As reported by the website of the news channel WION, the film received a standing ovation after it premiered at Cannes. The premiere was attended by the film's director, lead actress Azmeri Haque Badhon, Singaporean producer Jeremy Chua and other members of the crew.
Just #REHANA team making history as the first ever Bangladeshi film in the @Festival_Cannes Official Selection is about to premiere. 🌟#rehanamaryannoor #Cannes2021 pic.twitter.com/Ek7dNvJiYv
— Films Boutique (@FilmsBoutique) July 7, 2021
The only other Bangladeshi film to have been played at the festival was Tareque Masud's Matir Moina (The Clay Bird), which was screened in Director's Fortnight in 2002.