The 57th anniversary of the birth of internationally acclaimed filmmaker Tareq Masud, who established his own language of storytelling on the silver screen, will be observed today.
His blend of patriotism and pragmatism was what constituted the individuality that is reflected in his films. Having been a student of history, having educated himself in the wider cosmopolitan study of the world, Tareq found it convenient to pass on the knowledge he had come by through his classic films depicting the historical incidents of the country such as Muktir Gaan, Muktir Katha, Narir Katha and Matir Moina.
Masud, who received his early education in madrassah, came up with an insightful analysis of the rise of fundamentalism in his last feature film Runway released in 2010.
He also wished to present the facts of the partition of the subcontinent in his unfinished film Kagojer Phul. While returning to Dhaka from the shooting location of the film in Manikganj, Tareq Masud died along with four other members of the shooting team in a tragic road accident on the Dhaka-Aricha Highway on 13 August 2011.
Born on December 6 in 1956 in Faridpur, Tareq Masud got involved with the film society movement in the late 1970s. He made his first film Adam Surat, a documentary on the legendary artist SM Sultan, in 1982.
He, jointly with his wife Catherine Masud, made a feature length documentary on the war of independence titled Muktir Gaan in 1995, which brought a record audience and became a cult classic.
The film was made mainly based on the footage of American filmmaker Liar Levin that late Tareque Masud collected from the abandoned basement of Levin’s house in New York.
But, his full length feature film, again co-directed with his wife, gave him international exposure. The film had won one of the top awards at a special event called the Directors’ Fortnight and the International Critics’ Week that had run alongside the main festival in the city of Cannes at Southern France. It also participated in the OSCARS as the first Bangladeshi film in the same year.
Tareq Masud was also the co-founder of alternative filmmakers’ forum in Dhaka and ultimately became the central figure of a new type of sophisticated cine movement in Bangladesh.
In 1988, he coordinated the International Short Film Festival before moving to New York where he along with his wife continued their venture of film making.
Celebrating his 57th birth anniversary today, a two-day film festival has jointly been organised by Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy and Tareq Masud Memorial Trust at the National Art Gallery auditorium.
On the opening day, a Tareque Masud commemorative speech will be delivered by filmmaker Nurul Alam Atik. The topic of the speech is ‘Cinemar Jatia Paribhasha Nirmaner Akankha O Tareq Masud’s Adam Surat.
The opening day’s programme also includes a launching of a compilation of Masud’s screenplays and lyrics, and a CD. Masud’s first documentary Adam Surat will also be screened in the 22 years since 1991 following the conversion of the 16mm film into a digital one.
The second day of the programme includes screening of Prasun Rahman’s documentary on Tareque Masud titled Phera. Tareque Masud Young Filmmaker Award will also be conferred on the day.
Tareque Masud Memorial Trust also plans to enrich its ongoing programme of preserving Tareque Masud’s works. The trust will preserve digitally all the films by Masud including the less known films like Unison, A Kind of Childhood, Narir Kotha, In the Name of Safety, Voices of Children.
The Trust also plans to create an archive and a library.
Moreover, Tareque’s widow Catherine Masud will be working on Tareque Masud’s unfinished film Kagojer Phul.
-With New Age input
