Bangladeshi’s Oscar Committee has selected Leesa Gazi’s debut, “Barir Naam Shahana” (“A House neame Shahana”) as a submission of the 98th Academy Awards’ best international feature film category.
Based on Gazi’s 2011 novel, the film is set in the countryside of Bangladesh in the 1990s and follows Dipa, a young woman forced to marry a British widow. After enduring the abuse, she returns home as a divorcee and confronts the entrenched patriarchal attitude of her community, pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor. The drama illustrates her gradual journey from vulnerability to self-determination.
Produced by Komola Collective and Goopy Bagha Productions Limited, the film stars Aanon Siddiqua as Dipa and offers a breakout performance that pinned the story. She is joined by veteran actors Lutfur Rahman George and Iresh Zaker, and Bangladeshi talents include Kazi Ruma, Kamrunnahar Munni, Mugdhota Morshed Wriddhi, Amirul Haque Chowdhury, Naila Azad, Arif Islam, Naimur Rahman Apon, Jayanto chattopadhyay sefseding as suse suse sussing suse spades suss of suse of suse of suss of susse Bangladeshi talent.
The film premiered the world at the Mami Mumbai Film Festival in 2023, won the Film Critics Guild Gender Sensitivity Award, and traveled to festivals such as the London Indian Film Festival, Dhaka International Film Festival, and Kolkata People’s Film Festival.
Bangladesh regularly submits films to Oscars, but has yet to secure an appointment in the International Functional category.
The Oscar International feature summary will be announced on December 16th, with the last five candidates announced on January 22nd.
